Seventeen creches face the possibility of being unable to open on Monday because they have not complied with the required registration process, according to Tusla, the child and family agency.
The childcare service operators were required to renew their registration or complete their registration application before the end of 2025. Some have missed the deadline and face potential closure tomorrow due to the issue.
To help creches with last minute registration, Tusla made its services available over the weekend to assist providers in submitting the relevant documentation so they can be registered before Monday.
As of lunchtime on Sunday there were seventeen providers, understood to represent 17 individual creches, faced with the possibility of being unable to open on Monday, according to a spokeswoman for Tusla.
The names of the creches are not being released.
“We are hopeful that most of the providers will engage with the registration team and their registration will be complete before Monday, avoiding service disruption,” the spokeswoman said.
“It isn’t appropriate to comment on individual providers’ materials. In general the incomplete documentation relates to Garda vetting and/or other documentation.”
More than 98 per cent (3,278) of early years services successfully renewed their registration by the required date, Tusla said.
From February 1st, 2025, Tusla began providing the Garda vetting application service for registered providers or anyone planning to submit an application to become a registered provider. The new system is accessed via a Tusla portal.
There was extensive communication with service providers at that time to advise of them of the new process and provide information on how to use the new Tusla portal, according to the agency.