Childcare in Ireland: The counties with the most expensive and cheapest creches

The most expensive creche is in south Dublin, with a monthly full-day care fee set at €1,578 per child, while the least expensive creche is in Monaghan, charging €340 per month*.

That’s a €1,238 price gap between the most expensive and cheapest creches surveyed in Ireland.

Our investigation revealed that creches in Dublin and its border counties are the most expensive nationwide, while the west and north-west are significantly cheaper than the rest of the country.

Following south Dublin, the next most expensive creches which were surveyed are in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, with one creche charging €1,450 for full-day care. Then came Kildare, where the cost is €1,400 a month, while in Dublin city one creche charges €1,300.

The survey of 217 creches shows parents living in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown are being charged at least €1,000 per month for full-day care, making it the most expensive region in Ireland, with surveyed creche prices ranging from €1,006 to €1,450.

The second most expensive region is another Dublin suburb, Fingal, with creche fees from €840 to €1,070.

These are followed by Dublin border counties: Wicklow’s monthly costs range from €800 to €1,167 and Meath ­creches set their fees from €800 to €1,150.

Those looking for private childcare in Dublin city centre will have to pay at least €760 and up to €1,300 a month.

Creches in Monaghan are the cheapest in the country, with monthly costs between €340 and €700. Leitrim is also one of the cheapest counties, with monthly fees starting from €420. It is the only county not charging more than €600 for a creche.

Other creches surveyed which were less expensive were one facility in Mayo which sets fees at €500, one in south Dublin which costs €520 and a Laois creche which charges €595 a month.

South Dublin, which has the most expensive surveyed creche at €1,578 and one of the least expensive ones at €520, has the biggest price gap, of €1,058, within one region.

Around 70pc of the surveyed creches provide half-day care.

The most expensive half-day care monthly fees can be found in Wicklow, starting from €600 up to €623, followed by Offaly with €600 and Westmeath at €480.

The cheapest half-day care can be found again in Monaghan, with parents paying at least €160 and up to €380.

The second most affordable half-day care fees can, surprisingly, be found in Dublin city, with creches charging from €258 to €588. Similar prices are in Roscommon, with fees ranging from €260 to €550.

Deposits for creches range widely across the country, from small booking fees as low as €20 to a full month’s fee reaching €1,400.

Some creches which take a full month’s fee as a deposit later cover the first or the last month of the child’s stay.

Around 59pc of surveyed creches take deposits, which are refundable in 95pc of cases.

Co-owner of a south Dublin creche, Lucy Madigan said it might be dependent on rates, the rental market and the cost of living.

“It’s down to the increased cost of living, particularly in the rental market. [Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown] is a high-rent area. You need to give a competitive salary that is going to allow [staff] to have a good work-life balance,” said Ms Madigan.

“With the rental market that’s there, and the people that want to live there and have that work-life balance, employers would have to offer a salary that is equal to their qualification but also allows them to live.”

Ms Madigan said Dublin fees would be naturally higher than in more rural areas due to the cost of living in the capital.

“It’s down to location, it’s down to rent and mortgages. Salary is higher in Dublin, rent and rates are higher. The cost of living in Dublin and the cost of accommodation in Dublin is having a massive knock-on effect,” she said.

“The fees in more rural and less urbanised areas will be less, because everything costs less – that’s why the north-west has lower fees.”

The Department of Children told the Irish Independent that analysis of the current cost of providing early learning and childcare will happen shortly.

“In line with contractual requirements under the new Core Funding Scheme, early learning and childcare providers participating in the scheme are required to provide the Department with validated financial returns,” a Department spokesperson said.

“The data collected through these financial returns must be submitted by May 31.”

*All fees stated in this article are for those ineligible for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme.