With less than a week to go before Budget 2026, many parents are wondering if accessibility to childcare will be addressed.
Cutting the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child was a core election promise by both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
It is now a pledge in the Programme for Government to deliver the reduction over the lifetime of this Government.
However it is clear that in many parts of the country, access to childcare is now a major issue with many parents struggling to find a childcare place.
Both Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris have acknowledged the pressure on places and the need for more spaces.
So, will Budget 2026 prioritise increasing childcare places over reducing costs?
Ciara Bardon is a qualified primary school teacher living in Boyle, Co Roscommon.
She has two children, one in primary school and the other who is availing of ECCE, the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme.
"We were lucky enough to get my youngest boy, who's three and a half, into the Early Childhood Education scheme last year.
"That's for three hours a day and he is having a great time. He's playing with his friends, he has a social interaction in his education" she said.
"But in terms of me, being able to work, the three hours a day isn't full time childcare and we can't get a full-time place.
"As a family, we're on one wage until this little guy goes to junior infants and then hopefully we might be able to get afterschool childcare for him."
Boyle in Co Roscommon is an example of what is happening in many towns across the country.
The population has increased but the services lag behind. A recent needs analysis was carried out in the town and produced stark findings.
Chairperson of Boyle Community Childcare Christina Egan Marnell said Boyle has reached a "critical point" for families.
"As a group, we commissioned an independent needs analysis earlier this year, and what we found was pretty stark," she said.
"For a town that's got a population of just under 3,000 and a wider catchment area of just under 14,000 there is a critical need for childcare.
"People are really relying on grandparents, and they're looking for child minders in their communities"
"Just 23% of children who are aged zero to four can access childcare, so that means 77% of under four year olds can't access a childcare space because there's none available.
"We know from talking to different groups and to different families, the figures for the waiting list are probably a lot higher, because families will call services, they'll inquire about spaces, and when they know that there isn't one, they often just won't put their names down," she said.
"So we think that there's probably a much higher rate of people who need childcare."
Ms Egan Marnell said people are relying on family and friends to get through the week.
"People are really relying on grandparents, and they're looking for child minders in their communities," she said.
"They're looking for family and friends to help out, and it's often a mix of solutions just to get them through the week.
"They're often trying a lot of different things to keep going, but they're really struggling.
"So for most young parents, and we know it's predominantly mothers, they're not able to return to the workforce or they're not able to return to study if they want to" she added.
In Boyle, they would like to see the Government revisit the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme which supports extensions and new premises for early learning and childcare.
"We have established a vision of wanting to create a community early year service in Boyle," said Ms Marnell Egan.
She said they want a high quality service that's affordable and that's accessible to the people of Boyle.
"We know there's a high demand, and we know it's something that will be well received, but it is taking time to get there.
"One of the biggest challenges that we've encountered is that for the funding that's available to get up and going.
"It's called the building blocks extension scheme and you have to already be in operation. You have to be up and running before you're able to access this," she said.
"This is really restricting groups like ourselves and groups across the country who do want to open, who do want to create a childcare service and what we're asking for is that the government revisit this."
The childcare committee in Boyle is determined that a solution will be found.
"We've identified a town centre building that would be perfect as an early years service.
"It would bring a vacant building back into the community. It would stop it from going derelict and we could see that it would benefit the local economy.
"So we've asked government ministers to get on board, come to the table with us and find a solution in funding," she said.
For Ms Bardon and her family, it means that she has not been able to return to work since her second son was born.
"After my older boy was born, I was able to continue to work, and we had him in a childcare setting 20 minutes from our town," she said.
However, since her second son was born, they have not been able to work because they do not have childcare for him.
"While I'm at home as a primary school teacher, the Government last year employed 13,500 unqualified teachers, both in over primary school and post primary," she said.
The mother-of-two believes there are many others in the same situation.
"So there are lots of teachers in my situation who would love to be back in the classroom but can't because we don't have childcare for our little ones.
"I'm very lucky that we're able to spend time with our two children and it's a great privilege to spend time with them when they're little.
"But at the same time, it's nice to use my professional skills and qualifications to serve the other children of the country," she said.
Ms Bardon said the situation is frustrating and is hoping the Government will address it in Budget 2026.
"The Government has been very proactive in creating subsidies for childcare, but what we need now is for the Government to also create spaces for children to be in," she said.
"There is no point in a subsidy if you don't have a space to access that you can then pay less for.
"It's a case of setting up more childcare centres, creating better paying conditions for the people who work in the early childcare setting and with government will I think it's easily resolved," she added.
