Childcare companies contend Labour Court process did not comply with regulations
Case due to return to court on April 21st
childcare
Why sisters should be doing it for themselves
The numbers show pay gaps are lower when the chief executive is a woman. Shame there are so few of them
The annual ‘is four or five the right age to start school?’ season is upon us
If your child is on the younger side, September 2026 shouldn’t be the only consideration – September 2036 matters too. Here’s why
Dozens of applications for eight places on State childcare capital investment scheme
Criteria target undersupplied areas and other factors including location, capacity and cost
Stay-at-home parents too often forgotten when it comes to measuring their value
Families need to put insurance and pension cover in place to make sure illness or death does not create a financial crisis
‘That is the secret sauce’: How to set your children up for financial success
Conversations to have about money, and saving and investing strategies explained
Creche worker who said she was not rostered due to needing step at changing table loses case
Rosaria Wada Fulguera Tenorio, who is 4ft 10in, was told her workplace was ‘overstaffed’
‘I wonder if I made a mistake giving up work. My son can be really demanding’
Ask the Expert: He is not a great sleeper and wants my attention all day long
Pushing baby-making on 29-year-olds is patronising, alarmist and tone deaf
Would the prospect of a passive-aggressive letter from a middle-ranking Department of Health bureaucrat get you in the mood?
Síle Seoige – An Saol Mar Atá on TG4: An honest depiction of the daily frustrations of parenting in modern Ireland
Television: It’s refreshing that Seoige doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. She’s muddling through like the rest of us
Childcare firms seek to raise €250,000 to fund legal challenge to pay-setting process
But stakeholders’ group, including Siptu, expresses ‘serious concerns’ at proposed court action
‘We’re just in limbo’: Defective concrete puts Donegal childcare centres under huge stress
Cracks appearing in the walls of buildings have caused major problems for a number of childcare providers
Three creche operators initiate judicial review proceedings over minimum pay levels
If the group is successful, it would mean increases to minimum rates would not be binding on operators
Nine good reasons Irish people are having fewer children, or none
We’re continually told we’re facing a demographic crisis, but solving it is not as simple as lying back and thinking of Ireland
Ireland’s mothers are the oldest in the EU. Why?
Bringing up a baby in your parent’s boxroom is not an attractive idea - but in the long term a mix of social and economic factors are driving fertility lower
Motherhood after 40: Why are women having children at an older age, and why does it matter?
Pregnancy over 40 would once have raised an eyebrow, but not any more. For an increasing number of parents, having a child when they are older is no accident
Child law report: Three-month old boy sustained ‘several fractures’, court hears
Placement breakdowns, child neglect and children absconding from care remain issues before the courts Child Law Project says
Facilities for up to 800 new childcare places to be acquired by State in 2026
Facilities will be acquired this year and refurbished to be ready to open by end of 2026 or early 2027
Couple who left rented home due to cost of rent and childcare ordered to pay €3,400 for not giving proper notice
Residential Tenancies Board says couple’s personal circumstances ‘cannot be considered by the tribunal’
Four creches remain closed due to Garda vetting issues
Tusla says: ‘The regulations are in place to keep young children safe from harm’
Additional charges against creche worker accused of assaulting children in her care
Tanya Martin faces five further charges related to the alleged assaults last August
Some creches may have to close on Monday due to registration failures
Tusla service opens over weekend to help small number of childcare providers complete registration process
Unclear if childminders’ homes will be assessed for commercial rates, says national body
Co Kildare carer’s home evaluated last year for tax levied on business premises
Ireland’s outdoor primary school: ‘A lot of people panic about the weather’
The Outdoor Primary School (TOPS), in Greystones, Co Wicklow, functions outside the Department of Education’s remit, but staff and parents rhapsodise about the benefits of such an education
The WFH parents balancing work and childcare: ‘I struggle with it. The two things don’t mix at all’
Some parents say they have no choice, but is working from home with no formal childminding arrangements feasible, or even acceptable?
Some children looked after by relatives have lower reading scores than those in afterschool clubs, study finds
More formal care associated with less time watching TV or online, says ESRI
Kildare childminder may leave profession after her home was assessed for commercial rates: ‘I thought we were exempt’
Directive circulated last summer stated early years providers liable unless operating on a not for profit basis
Sr Stanislaus Kennedy: An ‘intransigent woman’ with an impulse to help those in distress
Obituary: Her work in favour of the marginalised meant she often clashed with the Catholic Church and drove her to found Focus Ireland
Case of creche worker charged with assaulting children awaits directions
Tanya Martin was granted bail after being charged last month
If Tusla were a flesh and blood parent, its children would be taken away
The terrible recent events left us reeling. But what about all the kids shifted from one placement to another, in Carlow one day and Cork the next, because those are the only beds available?
Parents dismayed by mooted closure of Tuam creche due to fire-safety concerns
Tuam Parish says it cannot afford upgrade works at a cost of €1.2 million
Creche manager awarded €51,000 damages after being headbutted by parent
Qualified lawyer who is estranged from child’s mother assaulted woman in her workplace
Budget 2026 Q&A: ‘What are the changes to inheritance tax and reliefs?’ Your questions answered
Expert advice on the latest budget measures, from tax and pensions, to inheritance, childcare and more
Buyers fear VAT cut on apartment sales could be a double whammy
Cut to exit tax for investors welcomed as small first step to reform of taxation on investments but little cheer on childcare
Budget 2026: Welfare, petrol, diesel and cigarettes rise, little change to income tax
Changes in the rent tax credit, increase in minimum wage and VAT rate reduction for hospitality among highlights
Budget 2026 main points: Renters’ tax credit extended, minimal personal tax changes
Here is our detailed summary with a list of all the key measures
Pay increases for childcare workers to take effect this month
Pay deal provides 10% increases to thousands of staff in creches and after-school childcare centres
I’ve cracked the afterschool childcare problem. It has cheap coffee, wifi and over-excited toddlers
As Dua Lipa pulsed through the soft play centre in Kildare, and I tried to write a lecture on Descartes’ sixth Meditation, I finally experienced the real distinction of mind and body
Urgent action needed to address staff shortages in early learning, says industry body
Early Childhood Ireland calls for ‘significant investment’ in sector via Budget 2026
CCTV in creches: do safeguarding benefits outweigh privacy concerns?
Parents have mixed feelings about their children being filmed
Mother says CCTV footage shows Dublin creche worker dragging daughter ‘like a rag doll’
Dublin creche ‘immediately’ dismissed staff member and contacted gardaí
Dublin creche chain worker dismissed after allegedly ‘mistreating’ children
Gardaí and Tusla investigating incident after staff member dismissed by company ‘with immediate effect’
Any parent who can solve the afterschool childcare equation deserves a medal
Spoiler alert: the solution, in many cases, is ‘granny’ or, perhaps less often, ‘granddad’
New rules could see developers obliged to provide workable creche buildings
Some mandated childcare facilities in new housing estates remain empty because of fit out costs or unsuitability
What is the impact of shifting to a four-day work week?
The Netherlands serves as a case study for the advantages and trade-offs of reduced hours in the workplace
Lack of affordable childcare options considered significant barrier to work for parents
Flexible hours and remote option highly valued, notes survey by recruitment website Indeed
‘The two creches can only hold so much’: The childcare scramble in Ireland’s growing towns
In Co Kildare, where the population has doubled and is predicted to double again, parents are pushing for more
Creches empty or converted to housing as developers seek to drop childcare facilities
Planning rules require developers to include a creche facility with 20 childcare placements for every 75 homes built in an estate
Forged Garda vetting certs at private firm minding vulnerable children
Businessman behind firm blacklisted by Tusla over fake vetting later won €6 million State contract
Irish authorities tackle 52 cases of international child abduction by parents
Most children taken from Ireland are brought elsewhere in Europe
Twenty-five years on, Ireland’s economy still remains suspended between Boston and Berlin
New research shows that we are closer to the UK and Canada when it comes to taxation and Government spending than to Europe or the US
Parents face fee rise after Dublin childcare provider pulls out of ‘deeply flawed’ core funding model
More centres expected to withdraw from scheme in coming weeks, citing growing costs
‘I had always wanted to be a stay-at-home mum ... but I’m exhausted’
Ask the Expert: Moving to vulnerable communication about feelings neutralises resentment
Change to summer holidays would need consultation with parents, schools and teachers, says McEntee
Education Minister says summer holidays give ‘everybody a chance to take a break’
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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