Originally published by HLB Ireland.

Business in Ireland

For thirty years, growing a childcare business in Ireland meant much the same

That world is gone. Since the introduction of Core Funding in September 2022,
Employment Regulation Order. And the question facing owners has quietly

The operators who answer that question well over the next few years stand to do

The runway is real, and rare
Start with the demand, because it is exceptional. Ireland has a structural, State

Over 286,000 children are expected to benefit from the National Childcare
Scheme, and the demand behind those numbers is far from satisfied. Pobal

Few sectors offer this combination of deep, unmet, demographically durable

Growth is no longer just about places
The single most important shift owners need to internalise is that the funding
NCS now deliver a large and rising share of revenue as recurring, quasi

But it comes with a trade-off. In return for that funding, fees are frozen and

So where is growth actually won or lost? Almost entirely on two things -

The three constraints that decide who actually grows
In our work with operators across the ELC sector, the businesses that scale

Workforce is the binding constraint not capital or demand

National staff turnover is around 26% annually and, in some areas, it runs over
50%. You can have the demand, the premises and the funding lined up perfectly

The October ERO increase and ring-fenced State funding help but pay alone has

You have to understand your own funded revenue properly
This sounds basic but it is not. The most common and most expensive mistake

Whether you are seeking finance to expand, building a case to a landlord, or
This is precisely where commercial decisions are won or lost.

Your business has to be fundable
Growth requires capital, for fit-out, acquisition, or simply working through the J

The consolidation wave
There is a second dynamic that every ambitious owner should be aware of.
Ireland’s ELC sector remains fragmented and owner-operated, and a significant

That sets up a consolidation wave that has already commenced. For an individual

The risk - the one we see most often - is going to market or being approached

What good growth looks like from here
Put the pieces together and a clear pattern emerges for operators who want to

None of this is about chasing scale for its own sake. It is about building a business

A closing thought
The fundamentals and economics of ELC are shaped by three forces: how the

At HLB Ireland, our Early Learning & Childcare advisory team works with owners

If you are thinking about what comes next for your business growth, investment,
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*This article is based on publicly available information and HLB sector analysis as
of June 2026. It is intended as general commentary and does not constitute
investment, legal or financial advice.*