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Ireland

Childcare Software for Ireland

CentreCareOS supports Irish creches, preschools, and early years services with Tusla compliance tools, ECCE scheme management, and National Childcare Scheme (NCS) support.

Updated February 2026·10 min read

Childcare in Ireland

Ireland's early years sector has undergone significant transformation in recent years. With the introduction of the National Childcare Scheme and increased focus on quality through Tusla's Early Years Inspectorate, childcare providers need modern tools to manage compliance, subsidies, and daily operations.

CentreCareOS is designed to meet the unique needs of Irish childcare providers, from small community creches to large multi-site preschool chains.

Key Features for Irish Providers

Tusla Compliance

Built-in tools to help you meet Early Years Service Regulations and prepare for inspections.

Adult:Child Ratios

Real-time monitoring of Irish ratio requirements across all age groups and session types.

NCS & ECCE Support

Manage National Childcare Scheme subsidies and ECCE programme enrollment seamlessly.

Euro Currency

Full support for Euro currency, Irish tax requirements, and local payment methods.

Irish Ratio Requirements

The Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations set out minimum adult-to-child ratios for Irish early years services:

Age GroupFull Day CareSessional
0-1 years1:31:3
1-2 years1:51:5
2-3 years1:61:6
3-6 years1:81:11
ECCE (preschool)-1:11

Source: Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016

Tusla Inspections

Tusla's Early Years Inspectorate conducts both announced and unannounced inspections. Having accurate, real-time ratio data readily available can significantly help during inspections.

National Childcare Scheme (NCS)

The National Childcare Scheme provides subsidies to help families with the cost of childcare. CentreCareOS helps you manage NCS efficiently:

  • Track NCS-registered children and their subsidy levels
  • Record attendance hours accurately for subsidy claims
  • Generate reports compatible with NCS reporting requirements
  • Calculate parent co-payments automatically

ECCE Programme Support

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides free preschool for children aged 2 years and 8 months to 5 years and 6 months. CentreCareOS helps you:

  • Track ECCE eligibility dates and programme years
  • Manage ECCE session attendance separately from other sessions
  • Generate reports for ECCE capitation claims
  • Track Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) supports

Aistear & Siolta Frameworks

CentreCareOS supports documentation aligned with Ireland's national quality frameworks:

  • Aistear: Document children's learning across the four themes: Well-being, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, and Exploring and Thinking
  • Siolta: Track quality indicators and maintain evidence for self-evaluation and external validation

Irish Resources

Helpful links for Irish childcare providers:

CentreCareOS for Irish Services

Whether you run a small community creche or a large childcare chain across Ireland, CentreCareOS provides the tools you need to manage your service efficiently while staying compliant with Irish regulations.

  • Irish ratio requirements built-in
  • NCS and ECCE scheme support
  • Euro currency and Irish payment methods
  • Tusla inspection preparation tools
Contact Us for Irish Pricing