Childcare & pre-school in Ireland

Childcare and pre-school in Ireland

Early years care in Ireland is provided mainly by private and community services that take part in the state's ECCE free pre-school scheme and the National Childcare Scheme. This list covers the companies on the CRO register whose principal activity is child day-care or pre-primary education.

What to check before you enrol a child

• Tusla registration. Every pre-school and full-day-care service in Ireland must be registered with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, which publishes inspection reports for each service.
• Schemes. Ask whether the service offers ECCE (free pre-school hours for children aged 2 years 8 months and over) and whether it is registered for National Childcare Scheme subsidies.
• Ratios and staff. Regulations set adult-to-child ratios by age group; staff must hold at least a QQI Level 5 childcare qualification and be Garda vetted.

How this list is built

Companies are included when the CRO register gives NACE code 88.91 or 85.1 (child day-care activities or pre-primary education) as their principal activity. Phone numbers, websites and descriptions come from each company's own website; nothing is copied from other directories.