By Róise Collins
FINDING childcare is an enormous challenge facing families across Donegal.
This week research by Early Childhood Ireland revealed that there are more than 1,300 children on waiting lists for crèche and pre-school spaces across the county, with fewer than 100 spaces available.
These figures offered a shocking insight into the stark reality within the sector – hundreds of families fighting for a handful of spaces.
I remember excitedly telling my family and friends that I was expecting back in 2023 and one reaction has stuck with me to this day.
A friend said to me, “you better get their name on a waiting list for a crèche”.
I naively laughed and brushed her off.
At that stage the baby growing in my belly was no bigger than a blueberry.
I didn’t know we were going to have a wee boy and I definitely didn’t know what we were going to call him, so how could I put a name on a waiting list?
A few weeks had passed and I found myself sharing the funny anecdote with another expecting mum as we waited, grasping our green folders, in the portacabin outside Letterkenny University Hospital.
The other woman didn’t have to respond, the look in her eyes said it all – my friend was right.
I remember feeling a wave of panic rush over me and as soon as my appointment ended I called my partner Michael and told him I was going to call a crèche and enquire about booking a place for my return to work.
He was hesitant, scared it would jinx us.
This hadn’t even crossed my mind.
The same man was so superstitious that we weren’t allowed to bring a pram or cot into our home until our baby was born because of an old wive’s tale his grandparents shared with him as a child.
But who am I to judge, I still salute at magpies and refuse to split the pole.
We eventually agreed to wait until after our big scan, and as soon as we knew our baby was healthy I called a local crèche.
I was still slightly sceptical as I spoke to the manager, asking for a space for my unborn, nameless child but she quickly assured me that this was the norm.
She asked me to call back once my baby was born to confirm the date of birth and name.
Our baby boy Barra was born in early December, a day before his due date.
We were equally delighted and delirious in the ‘newborn bubble’, nothing else mattered.
Almost a month had passed before I called the crèche to confirm his name and place on the waiting list.
I thought I was on the ball.
However, during the phone call the staff member revealed that some mothers have called to confirm their baby’s details before they had been discharged from hospital.
This should have raised another red flag, but no, I still naively believed I was sorted.
Despite the constant stories being shared online or articles printed in our paper, I was sure that by the time my maternity leave had ended Barra’s space would be waiting.
It wasn’t.
Fast forward to the present day, Barra is no longer a baby, he’s a wee boy and his space in a crèche is still months away.
As well as becoming parents in 2023, we also became homeowners.
So between our monthly mortgage payments and keeping up with our baby who devours his weight in berries on a weekly basis, it was clear we both needed to be working.
So when my maternity leave ended and I had used up all of my additional leave, I started frantically calling every crèche in West Donegal and Letterkenny.
Barra’s name was added to countless waiting lists but we had no joy in securing a space.
I finally started back at work just before we celebrated his first birthday.
However I am only working part-time because we still have no childcare.
Myself and Michael are now juggling working and looking after our wee boy.
He works as a paramedic and is mostly working night shifts, so when I get in from work he hands over the reins and heads to work himself.
It is far from ideal and we are both exhausted, but this is reality.
Ours is only one story, there are thousands of families across Donegal living in the same precarious position.
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