Galway Bay fm newsroom - A report has found there are almost 6,500 Early Childhood Care and Education Schemes registered in Galway city and county.
An overview from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for the period of 2018 to 2019 shows 72% of these are private, while 28% are community-run organisations.
The ECCE scheme provides early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age and is offered in pre-schools, montessori’s and creches for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, 38 weeks of the year.
The recently published annual Early Years Sector Profile Report reveals the national average weekly fee for full day provision is just over €184.
This represents an increase of 3.6% since last year.
It's also revealed that fees charged by settings in affluent locations, on average are 33% higher than settings in disadvantages areas.
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