Protest over northside creche closure
Over 250 people attended a demonstration on Tuesday to protest the sudden closure of a creche, leaving 100 families without childcare. The demonstration was described as one of “the largest northside protests since the water charges” by People Before Profit TD Mick Barry.
Last week, the Before 5 Family Centre in Churchfield notified its 14 employees and parents that it would be shutting down immediately. The preschool has spaces for up to 100 children and has been in business for 5 decades.
The board of Before 5 released a statement last week, saying: “Due to a myriad of different reasons, such as financial challenges, changes in regulations, operational challenges, and recruitment issues, we find ourselves faced with the difficult choice of closing our doors”.
Staff and parents expressed shock at the news, and the demonstration against the centre’s closure took place at lunchtime on Tuesday with families and staff making their voices heard. Sinn Fein TD Thomas Gould, whose two children attended the creche told the Cork Independent that discussions involving Cork City Childcare and other childcare providers are currently ongoing, giving hope to families and staff that a new owner can be found and the facility can remain open.
“There is very positive feedback that negotiations are going well but it’s complex. There is hope but there’s a lot of work to be done,” he said.
The parents and staff are going to keep up the campaign. The creche was due to open on Thursday and we now have children who have nowhere to go. It would be a huge loss to Chruchfield and Gurranabraher if we lost the facility.”
Earlier this month The Little Paradise creche in Frankfield also announced that it will close in September. It had been open for over a decade and had spaces for up to 85 children. The loss of childcare facilities in the city is placing severe pressure on affected parents as they scramble to make alternative arrangements.
Competition for places
Former city councillor Fiona Ryan told The Cork Independent that she is struggling to secure childcare, and highlighted the dire circumstances faced by many parents. “I have my baby on a waiting list for 15 creches and we are now going to be competing with families trying to find a new creche,” she said.
“There are so many families that have multiple children in a single facility who are in a desperate situation. Childcare is crucial for the functioning of society,” she added.
Sinn Féin TD for Cork South-Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire urged the Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman to intervene to ensure that there are adequate childcare places available.
“We are clearly at something of a crisis point in childcare provision in the Cork city area. In recent weeks we have seen two childcare providers announce that they are closing,” he said.
“This is causing enormous stress and has huge ramifications for people’s ability to go to work. Childcare is not a luxury for very many families, it is not optional, it is essential to allow them to go to work. This has not only implications for these families but this also has strategic implications for Cork as a city, if childcare places continue to remain as rare as they are."
Meanwhile, recent information released by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability Integration and Youth indicated that closures of childcare facilities across the country have dropped to their lowest point in the past five years. Between January and July of this year, there have been 46 closures, a decrease compared to the 71 closures recorded in 2022.