Blow To Parents As Newbridge Creche To Leave Core Funding, With Full-Day Fees Jumping To €1,450 A Month

A letter outling the new costs has been sent to parents.

Parents of children who attend a Newbridge creche have been told to prepare for major childcare price increases next spring after Play and Learn Childcare and Education confirmed it will withdraw from the Government’s Core Funding scheme on 1st March 2026.

In a letter issued to families seen by Kfm News, the provider said the current funding model has become financially unsustainable for long-established services and that it can no longer cover operational costs under the Core Funding fee cap.

Updated 2026 fees show full-time care in the baby, toddler and preschool rooms rising to €1,450 per month for a five-day place before Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) deductions are applied.

Four-day full-day care will cost €1,162 per month, with three-day care at €871, and two days at €581.

The provider also informed parents that ECCE deductions will now be applied over 10 months instead of 12 following instruction from Pobal.

The fees quoted are also based on figures prior to National Childcare Scheme (NCS) deductions.

The letter states that over fifty services nationwide have already left Core Funding this year, and that the current system places long-established providers at a disadvantage compared to newly opened services that can charge significantly higher weekly rates while still receiving full State funding.

"We sincerely regret that we have had to take this step. We have explored every possible option to continue under the current model, but with the fee cap in place and no capacity for meaningful adjustments within Core Funding, we are unable to meet our operational costs," the letter stated.

It added: "Please note, we have also had to change the way in which we make the ECCE deduction, Pobal informed us that we must give the ECCE deduction over 10 months, and not 12 or we would be marked as non-compliant - this is reflected in the new fee table."

It further detailed how Core Funding was introduced with "positive aims", but the current structure has become "unworkable" for many long-established providers.

It outlined how under the rules, new services can charge up to €354 a week for full-time care or €295 for 40–49 hours and still receive full Core Funding.

By comparison, this provider’s existing weekly fees - before ECCE or NCS deductions - are €243.30 for wobblers and €233.37 for toddlers and preschoolers, which, the letter stated, is far below the levels new services are permitted to charge.

Management say they regret the decision and will support parents in reviewing childcare options, adding that they are introducing new four-day and one-day models to offer families more flexibility.

Speaking to Kfm News recently, Elaine Dunne, Chairperson of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, said: "Childcare needs to be a viable business, but right now, many of us are running week to week, accumulating debt. Some providers even face deficits of €2,000 a month. If this isn’t addressed, we’re going to see mass closures."

Just last month, a number of creche owners  threatened to close down until the government provides a solution to rising childcare costs.