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Families in Tuam, Co Galway are making a last-ditch bid to keep a child care centre open after the local parish council, which owns the building, says it cannot afford necessary refurbishment works.
The childcare facility, Happily Ever After, which cares for 120 children and employs 24 staff, is expected to close in the coming weeks as the lease with Tuam parish council is set to run out.
Happily Ever After has been providing care for children aged from six months to 12 years over the past five years.
The childcare facility’s owners, Sara Walsh and Claire McGrath, said the impending closure stems from a “routine fire inspection” conducted several months ago which found “upgrades were necessary”.
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Following the inspection, it was found that to bring the building up to the latest fire safety standards, upgrades are needed. Discussions were held between the facility’s management, landlords Tuam parish council and a fire officer to examine what options were available to meet the required improvements while maintaining normal operations.
The childcare centre owners claim the fire officer agreed the works could be done on a phased basis once a proposed plan was in place but the council said it could not afford the needed refurbishment works.
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The owners of the creche said “we are so keen to not lose this essential community service that we as owners offered to burden the full costs of this upgrade with no financial implications for the landlord”. However, “these options were rejected.... We have two young families ourselves so taking on this cost isn’t an easy decision, but we’re so committed to the families of Tuam we can’t sit by and not act.”
They added: “The closure of Happily Ever After will not only disrupt the lives of the children who have thrived under its care but will also have far-reaching consequences for the local community.
“The childcare crisis has been well documented in the press, and we have overcome many challenges such as Covid and staff shortages to ensure we are there to look after the wonderful families.
“We can’t believe this is what could lead us to shut our doors. Children from six months to 12 years call our facility their second home, it’s a building full of love, laughter and adventure.”
The pending closure has also been criticised by Saw Doctors band member and singer/songwriter Davy Carton, who has a child using Happily Ever After. He said he and his family were “devastated by the news”.
“Tuam is already facing a childcare shortage with long waiting lists at most facilities. Accommodating 120 additional children elsewhere is impossible,” he said.
“This isn’t just a childcare facility; it is an entire community and we cannot stand by and allow the Tuam parish council to make a decision that leaves 120 children educationally homeless.”
However, the parish council has pointed out that part of the Community Centre, Bishop Street, Tuam, was leased to Happily Ever After childcare in August 2018 for a period of four years and eleven months. The current lease expires on July 28th.
In a statement, the council said it had “enjoyed an excellent working relationship” with the operators of Happily Ever After over the last four years and knew the facility had been of great benefit to the community.
“Tuam Parish is regrettably not in a position to renew the lease at this time on account of the prohibitive costings of refurbishment works necessitated by the current statutory regulations as expressed to us by the fire officer,” the statement read.
The council said it had had a number of discussions with the operators of Happily Ever After since the fire safety requirements emerged.
“We will continue to have discussions with Happily Ever After and the fire authorities in a bid to find a resolution. At this time, and in these unfortunate circumstances, this part of the Community Centre cannot be leased to Happily Ever After or anyone else.
“We will continue to explore all possible avenues to resolve the current situation,” the statement concluded.
A petition titled Stop The Closure of Happily Ever After Creche in Tuam, on change.org has garnered more than 1,000 signatures opposing the planned end of the lease.