Kildare not receiving 'appropriate national attention' on childcare issues, Dáil hears

A Social Democrats TD for Kildare North has spoken out against the lack of childcare provision in the county.

Deputy Aidan Farrelly raised the matter in the Dáil recently with Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Marian Harkin.

In the interest of context, Deputy Farrelly outlined a number of key statistics in relation to County Kildare.

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He told the House that despite Kildare being the fifth most populated local authority area in the State, the county rarely receives what he termed the “appropriate national attention” from government.

Since 1991, he said, the population in Co Kildare has doubled to 247,000 in 2022, and if it continued to grow at that pace, would reach 500,000 by 2050.

One third of Kildare's population is aged zero to 24 years, while one in four of Kildare's population is aged under 17 years, he said.

According to Deputy Farrelly, who cited recent research, childcare fees in County Kildare are above the State average, and Kildare has the lowest rate of community-based childcare facilities in the State.

Deputy Farrelly said: “With population growth like we have seen in Kildare, it is not rocket science to understand that services and infrastructure will come under pressure.

“Whether it is housing, education, transport or healthcare, all too often the basics required to live and raise a family in Kildare require luck or patience to avail of them.

“...I am here to advocate on behalf of the hundreds of parents in Kildare with whom I have spoken about this issue alone: young parents who have either moved to Kildare in recent years, or who themselves have grown up and proudly remain in Kildare.

“The common story is this. Having purchased a home or entered a tenancy agreement, the attention of the family turns to securing a place for their child in the local childcare facility. The chances are that they will be refused. I have heard stories of people taking days or weeks off work to just ring around and visit facilities in the hope of securing a place. They might be offered a spot on the waiting list but they will need to join a queue that is hundreds and hundreds long.”

Deputy Farrelly stressed that the failures in childcare were no reflection on the services in Kildare, which were all operating “at full capacity.”

Nonetheless, he stated, “Government policy will not fix this problem.”

He said the previous government's plan to leave the development of childcare facilities to strategic housing developments has failed.

There are many examples, he added, of proposed childcare facilities lying idle for months, if not years.

He concluded: “For as long as the Government relies on the private market alone to meet what is a public good, the childcare and early years education issues that remain will only continue to worsen, specifically in County Kildare.

“I ask the Government to row in behind the county council, the LCDC and the childcare committee, and to put in a comprehensive public and community-based response to ensure every child and family has affordable access and an efficient service.”