Kilkenny parents hit by 'bombshell' as childcare service to cease this Summer
The local service provides care for Kilkenny children in primary or post-primary education outside school hours
Families in a local community have been left ‘concerned’ following confirmation that a school-age service will cease operations on June 25th.
The service provides care for children in primary or post-primary education outside school hours.
In a letter to parents seen by Kilkenny Live, Gowran Early Years informed parents that the decision was made with ‘great regret’ and is due to 'steadily rising costs'.
"Unfortunately, due to the core funding contract, the government's freeze on permitting any price increase or providing additional funding has left me unable to sustain the service in its current form," the provider wrote.
"I understand how much this service means to you and your children, and I am truly sorry for any inconvenience this will cause, but it is completely out of my hands now. Please rest assured that this decision was not made lightly, and I have explored every possible option before reaching this conclusion.
"We will, of course, continue with our Pre-school as normal," they added, stating, "Thank you sincerely for all your support throughout the years; it has been an amazing journey."
Parents who availed of the service in the area have been left wondering what their childcare will be come September.
"There are a lot of very upset and concerned parents in the community, wondering how they'll keep working by September," one parent told this publication.
"How can this be allowed to happen? It's a very great pity the government couldn't support this service in some way to keep it afloat. We’ve all been landed with a bombshell.
"In a nutshell, parents are going to be punished for going out to work as there is now no after-school child care from 2pm for junior and senior infants and from 3pm for the older classes," the local parent continued.
"More pressure is going to be put on families and potentially more strain on social welfare payments, as working parents may end up having to cut their working hours to facilitate childcare.
“We really hope that the community or the school have the capacity to begin offering an after-school service. The alternative of parents having to cut working hours is not a viable option," they concluded.
Gowran Early Years have been contacted for comment.