The two multi-million euro hospitals being built in Ireland will not offer a creche for hospital staff, even as doctors call for every hospital to have \u201cproper childcare\u201d built in.<\/p>\n
Many types of doctors work long hours, night shifts, or weekends, meaning they fall outside regular childcare hours.<\/p>\n
In addition, doctors in training move hospitals, often from county to county, every four to 12 months during training years.<\/p>\n
Dr Laura Finnegan (35) is training to be a GP, having started out training as a surgeon. Now a new mother, she said childcare was a factor in that switch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will always miss surgery,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved it, but I did always say when I went into it that I would only do it for as long as it was sustainable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just got to a point where I knew it was going to be difficult to do both [surgery and parenting].\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Finnegan stresses that this was one element in her thinking, saying: \u201cI know loads of friends who are going through the surgical scheme and have kids. So it\u2019s not saying that every woman who goes into surgery ends up changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
She described childcare as \u201ca hot topic\u201d among non-consultant hospital doctors.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften the age you are when having kids coincides with the age that you\u2019re going through a lot of the training programmes,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the vast majority of people, apart from some unique specialities, this means moving at least every year and sometimes every six months.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her GP training, she said: \u201cI move jobs every four months for the first two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
This can mean going from Dublin to Galway or Cork to Donegal with as little as three months\u2019 notice.<\/p>\n
![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5179444_7_articleinline_CC_20HEALTH_20COMMITTEE_20MEETING_20_14.jpg\" "\\"Dr")
Dr Laura Finnegan at Leinster House in 2023 for an Oireachtas health committee meeting. She\u00a0pointed out to the Irish Examiner that medics undergo much of their training just at the age they are having children. \tPicture: Gareth Chaney\/Collins<\/p>\n
She knows of people who put their baby\u2019s name down for creche while still pregnant, but said for doctors in training, \u201cthey might not know where they [will be] by the time the baby is going to creche.\u201d<\/p>\n
A council member with the Irish Medical Organisation, she wants to see these challenges discussed more openly by health authorities.<\/p>\n
The situation is complex, she noted, as offering placements based on family support for people with children could be seen as preferential treatment compared to trainees without children.<\/p>\n
Dr Madeleine N\u00ed Dh\u00e1laigh is a GP and has seen many changes since her first child was born in 2001 but argued much more is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, maternity leave wasn\u2019t really taken. I think I took 11 weeks that time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the norm; you went back. We were in a country town at the time; there were no creche facilities, so we had to get a child minder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now she advises young doctors to invest in childcare as much as they can, saying: \u201cPeople very regularly say \u2018how do you do it all?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cMy answer is always I never have and I never will because you can\u2019t do two full-time jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr N\u00ed Dh\u00e1laigh described \u201cthe stress of watching the clock when you\u2019re trying to deal with sick patients\u201d.<\/p>\n
As a result, her preference is for childminders when this can be afforded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have a successful family life and a successful career if you want, but you\u2019ve got to invest in childcare,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She has seen changes in attitude, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still remains that childcare is very often left for the woman to figure out or it\u2019s for her career to take a step down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just over 47% of doctors registered with the Irish Medical Council in 2024 were women.<\/p>\n
She echoed the call for specialist creches, saying: \u201cI think that every hospital should have proper childcare built in; where doctors who are expected to move their families from place to place have at least guaranteed childcare and access to local schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doctors later in their careers are likely \u201cin the very lucky position\u201d of affording childminders more easily, she indicated.<\/p>\n
But she said, \u201cif the doctors that are moving around are stressed out of their heads trying to sort out childcare, they are not going to be 100% at work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline Baily is a consultant ophthalmologist and is just now looking for a new childminder, describing the process as \u201cfraught\u201d for her family.<\/p>\n
While her work environment at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital is \u201cvery supportive\u201d of female staff, this gap is her \u201cbiggest challenge\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work full-time, and my husband is a doctor, so we don\u2019t have the option of ever working from home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only people I know who have full-time childcare are doctors, doctors who marry doctors because we don\u2019t have any flexibility at all.” She adds:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n You can\u2019t do surgical work from home.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
They need about 42 hours a week of childcare, she estimated for their three children generally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do love what I do, and fortunately I had very robust childcare to date,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd having to find a new person has made me realise it\u2019s so essential to have good, solid childcare to be able to perform at the level you need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is concerned about the lack of structured vetting systems for childminders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very nerve-wracking; you don\u2019t know who you\u2019re letting into your home. It\u2019s very difficult,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She was also critical of the Government focus on early years support, saying: \u201cIt is not just for two years, it\u2019s up to the age of 16 really.\u201d<\/p>\n
Public childcare centres attached to schools would be ideal for older children, she suggested, saying nurses face similar challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough the hospital would be amazing in the earlier years but when the kids are older that doesn\u2019t work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cI think the Government needs to look at some kind of financial support for the childcare factor, and I would really think we need more structured places to find reliable childcare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) is a rare healthcare facility offering a creche for staff use.<\/p>\n
It opened in 1998 when TUH was formed from the merger of three Dublin hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2019, it was moved to a new, purpose-built and permanent facility within the grounds of TUH, where it still operates from today,\u201d a spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hospital set up a board to run it originally, but in 2016 it was contracted out, and that is the model now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe provide the facilities, which are rented, and Nurture Childcare runs the facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also said: \u201cHaving an on-site creche is a huge advantage for TUH, and we promote this fairly unique benefit when recruiting staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, 46 children of staff attend.<\/p>\n
However, the cost is not subsided, with standard fees applying.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the years, other hospitals have contacted us to enquire about how we provide this childcare service for our staff,\u201d the spokeswoman added.<\/p>\n
Despite this, creches remain rare.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for Children\u2019s Health Ireland said: \u201cThere are no creche facilities planned in NCHI\u201d, referring to the \u20ac2bn new children\u2019s hospital.<\/p>\n
The HSE indicated the new national maternity hospital is also not expected to have a creche space when asked about this site and others.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt present, there are no plans to introduce childcare or cr\u00e8che facilities for staff across HSE hospitals,\u201d a spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
Similar concerns led to a review in England last year of 27 major trauma centres.<\/p>\n
This found that, while 26 centres had on-site nurseries, few were open after standard hours and none offered weekend hours.<\/p>\n
It said this \u201ccritical gap\u201d especially affects surgeons, nurses, and military medical staff working longer hours.<\/p>\n
It concluded: \u201cThis underscores the urgent need for 24-hour childcare facilities that align with the operational requirements of the NHS.\u201d<\/p>\n
The review was published in The Surgeon journal.<\/p>\n
These pressures facing doctors come amid childcare shortages for many parents across Ireland.<\/p>\n
The National Women\u2019s Council referred to Tramore in Waterford as one of a number of \u201cchildcare deserts\u201d now emerging.<\/p>\n