Planning guidelines must be fixed to deliver childcare – Currie

A reform of the 2001 Childcare Facilities Guidelines is needed to ensure families don’t miss out on desperately needed childcare places, said a Fine Gael TD.

Deputy Emer Currie, who first highlighted the issue around the 2001 planning guidelines during her time in the Seanad, said there is a real need to prioritise reforms to guarantee childcare facilities are delivered alongside housing developments as part of a new vision for childcare.

Deputy Currie said: “The current system has gaps and flaws which need to be addressed, but a review of the system offers the opportunity for the Government to create a new vision for childcare, including the provision of state-led facilities.

“Currently, for every 75 new dwellings, there’s supposed to be the provision of 20 childcare places. But developers can get out of building new creches by pointing to existing childcare facilities in the area, even if those facilities are oversubscribed.

“There is a lack of mandatory technical guidelines and developers only need to provide a shell of a building, often resulting in units that aren’t suitable for childcare in terms of location, size, design and regulatory compliance.

“Some buildings are completely unworkable as a childcare facility, and others are financially unviable for many providers to take on.

“In my own constituency of Dublin West, we have seen so many examples of spaces that lay empty for years in areas where parents are crying out for places and providers are crying out for units. And it’s happening all around the country.

“The Programme for Government commits to review the 2001 Childcare Facilities Guidelines for Planning Authorities to ensure childcare spaces are provided and put into use. Updating these guidelines can ensure a viable link between the supply of homes and essential community infrastructure, like childcare.

“It also provides the opportunity for a new vision for childcare ensuring families have access to affordable childcare places in their local communities, with a joined-up forward planning process, the building and purchase of state-led facilities nationally at scale and value-for-money, that could also support our smaller and community providers.

“We can change this system for the better to benefit families across the country if we take action” concluded Deputy Currie.