Community Services

The Leitrim County Childcare Committee

The Leitrim County Childcare Committee was established in 2001 and is composed of representatives of the key stakeholders in childcare in the County. The formation of the committee came after five years of intense development activity in the childcare sector in the county and is part of a nationwide framework to promote a strategic approach to childcare development.

County Leitrim is a rural county, with a very low population density, having experienced sustained population decline over the past century. The county has high levels of disadvantage, exacerbated by physical isolation and an absence of transport facilities. Traditional industries such as farming and mining are declining, being replaced by service type industries. There have been positive economic trends in Leitrim in recent years, but the economy of the county remains relatively weak.

Over the past few decades, childcare facilities that developed in Leitrim were largely voluntarily run and sessional in nature, primarily with the intention of offering a social and developmental outlet to young toddlers. The 1999 Childcare Census showed that just one in ten children aged under 12 years in Leitrim were accessing a childcare service and that demand outstrips supply of childcare places. As more and more women are working outside the home and parents recognise the benefits of playgroups / after-school services for children and their value as a support for families in difficulty, the demand for childcare facilities in Leitrim has increased.

The NCIP 2006-2010 is funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2007-2013

The EOCP 2000-2006 is funded by the Irish Government and part-financed by the European Union Structural Funds under the National Development Plan 2000-2006