New Kildare crechés are not viable, says local rep
Photo for illustrative purposes only
THE lack of community crèches in Kildare was highlighted at a recent meeting of Naas Municipal District.
At the most recent meeting of Naas Municipal District, cllr Bill Clear asked that the council work towards the zoning of specific lands in the area for a crèche that provides affordable and community based childcare.
Cllr Clear claimed there is only one community crèche in the entire county - in Maynooth, which isn’t accessible to families in Naas. He compared the one facility in Kildare to Wexford which has five community crèches. Kildare’s population is around 84,000 larger that of Wexford according to the latest census.
The Independent Ireland councillor highlighted that some new crèche buildings being built as part of large residential developments were too small and not viable for childcare providers.
There are currently six crèches up for sale in Kildare according to myhome.ie, including five that have not yet been built.
Cllr Clear argued that Naas is the fastest growing town in Kildare and that planners should listen to councilors such as himself who are on the ground in communities.
Cllrs Anne Breen and Seamie Moore expressed support for the motion, with the latter saying that community crèches are “the thing for the future”.
Cllr Evie Sammon expressed some scepticism, believing zoning would not address difficulties involved in the process of delivering community crèches.
The council responded to cllr Clear’s motion by stating that crèches are “permitted in principle in lands zoned Community and Education, Town Centre and New Residential”, whilst also adding that such facilities are “open for consideration” in areas zoned in the categories of Commercial/Residential, Leisure and Amenity, Neighbourhood Centre, Enterprise and Employment, Retail/Commercial and Mixed Use.
Families in Naas have faced challenges with finding childcare facilities for their children, with a local childcare provider leaving the government’s core funding model leading to significant increase in childcare costs.
