Tens of thousands of children are heading into the new academic year without early years and childcare places, according to new figures.
The latest statistics from Pobal, which administers early years programmes, show up to 40,000 children under the age of three are on crèche waiting lists nationwide.
There are 6,648 children under the age of one on waiting lists and only 97 places available, with 16,849 children aged one to two on waiting lists and 267 places available.
While 16,485 children aged two to three are on waiting lists and 2,026 places are available to them.
It marks a rise in figures released earlier this year, which saw just over 33,000 under the age of three on waiting lists.
There are similar issues for parents who need after-school care, with over 10,000 children on waiting lists across the country for this service.
Read more: Out of 14 crèches only one spot free in new year, says mother in north Dublin
Kildare, which has seen its population double in recent years, is facing significant challenges in areas including Kilcock, Maynooth and Kilcullen.
Co-founder of the "Kilcullen Needs Childcare" group Alice Malone O'Neill said she is struggling to get after-school care for her son and said she may have to give up her career.
Speaking to RTÉ's News At One, Ms Malone O’Neill said: "I have three children and my eldest son attends an after-school service in the town and a couple of months ago they announced that they can no longer provide an after-school service for children from first class onwards."
"Immediately, we were met with this issue that we have no solution to ourselves," she added.
Ms Malone O’Neill stressed that they have no family living close by, that they do not work from home and work far from Kilcullen, adding that "we are in a tricky situation".
She said there are no other childcare services in the town that provide an after-school service where they would have space.
The mother-of-three said there is one other place in the town that is completely full and is completely full, which said they cannot provide an after-school service for a child coming from an outside childcare provider.
"My husband and I are saying to each other that one of us may have to give up our career because we don’t really have another option.
"There is nowhere else around the town, there is nowhere else nearby that has a space for after-school. We need to keep putting the feelers out there to see if there is anywhere or any other providers that could come into the town to provide an after-school service.
"If they can find a fit for purpose building or an area suitable for children of school age," she said.
Ms O’Neill stressed that they know they do not have a place for their son this time next year.
She said her two-year-old and ten-month-old will be in primary school in a few years and that they need somewhere now that is a "secure option".
Ms O’Neill said a survey she issued in June showed 85 families in Kilcullen, comprising 120 children, had no after-school place.
"We collected people’s personal stories … there are people who are reducing their work hours. Nearly half of the respondent are seriously considering giving up their careers.
"And one in five already have and in some cases, both parents had to reduce their working hours because there aren’t enough childcare services to cater for the amount of children living in Kilcullen," she said.
Ms O’Neill said she had heard one parent was considering moving back to Kilkenny so that her parents could help mind her child due to the lack of after-school services.
"So many people are actually affected by this issue," she added.
State-led intervention
Director of Policy at Early Childhood Ireland Frances Byrne, has called for more robust planning and State-led intervention around building crèches.
It comes as buildings earmarked as crèches are lying empty or being turned into houses as developers seek permission to drop commitments to provide childcare facilities in large estates.
Planning rules require developers to include a crèche facility with 20 childcare placements for every 75 homes built in an estate.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Ms Byrne said: "There needs to be a short but very robust assessment done every time a new crèche closes, or a crèche is supposed to be getting built to make sure it is needed in the area."
"If it is needed in the area and nobody comes forward to kit it out, the builder leaves it, as is their right… what we would be saying is that the State should be looking at kitting it out and putting the operation of it out to tender or finding a solution," she added.
Ms Byrne said we need to be more careful in planning on the demographic side and on the planning side, consulting with city and county childcare committees "much earlier and more robustly".
Meanwhile, Fine Gael TD for Dublin West Emer Currie said the planning requirement of 20 childcare places for every 75 houses being built is not happening for a number of reasons.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, she said one reason was there cannot be a childcare system that is based on planning guidelines for land use.
"It has to ladder up to a forward planning system where the department knows where places are needed and what kind of places are needed," she said.
She added: "We are seeing empty crèches in Dublin-West, some of those have been turned into houses, some of those are built like houses."
Ms Currie said there are no technical guidelines for how to build crèches in the same manner as there are for schools, which includes design and build requirements.
"What you actually have, is buildings going into estates in the wrong location, not suitable at all for crèches," she said.
The Dublin-West TD referenced instances where families were disappointed that there was no crèche built in a new housing estate, despite promises from the developer.
"We have this review of the planning guidelines, but we also have a commitment from the Government to step into State-led facilities.
"I think there is a real opportunity to make this work, for planners, for builders, for providers, in that the State should be stepping in," she said.
Ms Byrne said it feels like progress has stalled and that there needs to be a re-focus on planning and that the State needs to "get a lot more active".
