Dozens of families have been left scrambling for new childcare providers after being told last week that the Ranelagh branch of the Nest Creche and Montessori is to close in the summer.
About 50 children, ranging in age up to six years, attend the facility which provides preschool, as well as full- and part-time care, but parents say it has a waiting list of up to two years said to include the names of 200 children whose parents had expected to use the service in the future.
On Tuesday, however, manager Colm Bowers wrote to parents to say the building in which the creche is located is to be redeveloped for residential use and so the facility will close on August 29th.
Mr Bowers said the operators do not expect to find an alternative facility but parents have approached local politicians with a view to exploring whether another suitable building might be found, while many families have already embarked on a scramble to find new places for their children.
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Mother of two Sorcha Hanratty said last week’s announcement came as a shock, not least because the creche and its staff are very well regarded by the families whose children attend. She said she appreciates the situation may be beyond the control of the company behind it, which runs four other facilities around Dublin, but that even with six months’ notice many families, especially those with the youngest children, are going to struggle to find new places.
“I’m probably in a more fortunate position in that one of our boys is going to school in September while the other is getting to Montessori age, that little bit older, where there seems to be a few more places around.
[ Childcare: ‘I never knew how tough it was to be a working mother in this country’Opens in new window ]
“A friend of mine has a one-year-old, though, and she is really struggling. Trying to get a space for a baby is so difficult.”
Arie Fisher said he has received a string of “straight nos” from other providers to inquiries regarding a place for his two-year-old daughter since being told the Nest would close. Both his older children went there in recent years and, like the other parents who spoke to The Irish Times, he was very happy with it. Now, finding an alternative for his youngest is proving to be a real challenge.
“I’ve contacted just about every childcare facility in the area and beyond but most won’t even accept applications on to the waiting list because they say they are so long, there would be no point.”
“A few say I can put her name down but they have no availability for the next couple, but that’s the most positive thing I have been told so far.”
Another parent impacted, Brian Savage, said the owners have been approached but he is unaware of any engagement. He said he hopes other premises can be found but is sceptical because of the regulatory requirements in the sector and likely rental rates in the area.
About 90 creches closed across Ireland last year, roughly the same as opened, the first time since the current system of annual monitoring began in 2017 the numbers did not decline. Despite the overall numbers having stabilised, however, each closure results in a scramble for alternative sources, often in areas where there is already an acute shortage.
[ Why so many creches have been closing and what can be done about itOpens in new window ]
Local councillor Dermot Lacey said he hopes a meeting for parents in Ranelagh can be arranged for this week but admits he is not optimistic regarding the prospects of finding a solution.
“We will see if we can find a place but it’s difficult and I don’t think the situation is helped by the strict regulations put in place by the department and Tusla. It’s not that I want low standards but I do think it is time we had a discussion about the standards being set and whether they can be met, particularly by community creches, which we should be encouraging.”
Ms Hanratty said she accepts that more housing is required and so buildings will be repurposed or redeveloped but “there is all the talk about the need for people to be working but then there aren’t the amenities required for people to actually work and, yes, we need more homes for people but those people need amenities like this”.
“It needs to be better thought out. Allowing amenities like this to be lost doesn’t make sense to me.”
The management of the Nest did not respond to attempts to contact them.
