In Pictures: Preschool providers mount protest in Donegal Town

Undeterred by torrential rain, preschool providers gathered on the Diamond in Donegal Town as part of three days of strike action.

Wednesday’s local protest followed a national day of action which saw 4,000 people from the sector gather in Dublin. And on Thursday, preschool operators and staff from across Donegal will gather in Letterkenny.

Founder of Barnesmore Montessori Suzanne Costello explains the reason for the three-day protest.

“We are looking for our funding to be increased because the core funding at the moment is not sufficient to keep a preschool running,” she said. 

Suzanne questions Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth of Ireland Roderic O’Gorman’s claim that millions of euros are going into childcare.

“We don’t know where it is going,” she said. “It is not coming to us. 

“We have asked for the breakdown and months later he has still not come back to us.”
Preschools receive an ECCE grant of €69 per child per week. This is supposed to cover the provision of free preschool education for all children. The figure has not changed since 2013, and it is grossly inadequate in light of steep inflation over the last ten years. 

Suzanne said: “That works out at €4.60 per hour. Who would be expected to work for €4.60 per hour? Roderic O’Gorman certainly wouldn’t work for that. I would like to see him come and work on my wage - my non-existent wage.”

Suzanne is frustrated and disappointed to have to resort to protesting on the street.

“This is not where I want to be,” she said. “I don’t want to be on a bus to Dublin or standing out here in the rain. I want to be in my Montessori with the kids. 

“It was very hard to have to tell the parents that we were closing for three days.”

Kay Donagher of Footprints Montessori in Cashelard agrees. 

“This is rural Ireland being forgotten again,” she said. 

Kay also believes that gender discrimination is a big factor. Childcare is seen as part of a women’s role and therefore is being undervalued financially and in terms of perception of staff skill and professionalism. Yet preschool providers such as Suzanne and Kay are expected to comply with strict regulations and must spend a large part of their day on time-consuming administration duties. 

“We are being taken for a ride,” said Kay. “We all love our work. It is heart-breaking to be in this position. 

“But there are constant pressures on our sector and we are so underfunded that it is very hard to keep going. 93 services have closed. The minister is ignoring that. Where are all those children going to go?”
Suzanne agrees, saying there are preschools closing all over the country.

“It’s being said that it is a staffing crisis but that is not true,” she said. “This is a funding crisis. Give us the funds so that we can pay good wages to good staff to keep our businesses open.”

Both women said that what the minister is claiming to be free childcare is in fact being provided at the expense of the preschool owners.