04/11/2025
Major childcare crisis imminent as childminders shut up shop. Up to 80% of childminders could close ahead of new excessive childminding system – Childminding Ireland.
Minister Norma Foley is not engaging with the sector and risks being known as the Minister who oversaw the end of Childminding in Ireland.
The majority of childminders in Ireland have told their representative body they intend to cease operations within the next 12 months as a new Government system takes hold. Surveys and focus groups by Childminding Ireland show most childminders plan to leave rather than be forced into a system that destroys the essence of childminding, its home-based, family feel and the many benefits it brings to children, families, and communities.
Childminding Ireland, the representative body for childminders in Ireland, said that Minister for Children, Norma Foley and her department seem tone-deaf to the true nature of childminding. Bernadette Orbinski Burke, Chief Executive of Childminding Ireland has stated "a sustainable future for the sector depends on a system designed from the ground up, one that grows from the roots of what childminding truly offers: personalised, home-based care that benefits children and families alike. Instead of building on its strengths to attract new childminders and expand childcare capacity, this one-size-fits-all approach is driving childminders out, creating anxiety across the sector and reducing childcare capacity ."
Across Ireland, childminding, the backbone of family childcare and community life, is collapsing. It offers a unique, home-from-home environment where children experience continuity of care from babyhood through their school years, siblings stay together, and parents build trusted relationships with their childminders. The flexibility of childminding allows parents and childminders to agree on arrangements that suit each child’s and each family’s needs. Childminding supports real-world learning, greater flexibility for families, and inclusive care for children with additional needs.
Childminding Ireland warns that if nothing changes, thousands of trusted childminders will be lost, reducing choice, flexibility, and affordability for parents. If the expected exodus from the sector is not stopped, there will be a major childcare crisis nationally over the next 12 months.
Childminding Ireland identified 9 core actions that the Government urgently needs to take to avert a national crisis.
Losing up to 80% of Ireland’s childminders will trigger a national childcare shortage, leaving tens of thousands of children without care. This would force many parents, particularly mothers, out of work, increase costs for families and the State, and harm the wider economy. Immediate government support is essential to prevent lasting damage to families and the workforce.
Visit childminding.ie to understand more: rebrand.ly/1aauesu
Childminding Ireland is the National Childminding Association. www.childminding.ie or email [email protected]
