Creche ratios in Ireland: adult-to-child rules by age

Every creche and preschool in Ireland must keep a minimum ratio of adults to children at all times. The ratios are set in law, in Regulation 11 and Schedule 6 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (irishstatutebook.ie), and Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate checks them during inspections. The ratio depends on two things: your child’s age, and the type of service they attend.

These are minimums. Tusla notes that children’s ages, stage of development and particular needs, and some activities, such as outings, may call for more adults (Tusla).

Full-day and part-time creche ratios

A full-day care service offers a structured day of more than 5 hours; a part-time day care service offers more than 3.5 hours but less than 5 hours a day. Both use the same ratios (2016 Regulations, Schedule 6, Part 1):

Tusla’s Quality and Regulatory Framework for full day and part-time services (section 4) uses the same figures.

Sessional preschool and ECCE ratios

A sessional pre-school service offers a planned programme of not more than 3.5 hours per session (2016 Regulations). The free preschool programme, ECCE, gives 3 hours a day (Citizens Information), and Tusla treats it as a sessional service. The sessional ratios are (Schedule 6, Part 2):

Tusla’s Quality and Regulatory Framework for sessional services (section 4) uses the same figures.

When a full-day child goes to ECCE

Many creches run an ECCE session inside a full-day service. The Regulations say that while a sessional service runs alongside full-day or part-time care, the sessional ratio applies to the children in the session for as long as it lasts (Reg 11(4)). Tusla’s framework adds:

• A child attending on a full-day or part-time basis can attend a sessional service, including ECCE, only once a day.
• During that session (up to 3.5 hours), the sessional ratio of 1:11 applies.
• Once the session has finished and the child stays on for the rest of the day, the full-day ratio of 1:8 or 1:6 applies again.

Drop-in, temporary and overnight services

• Drop-in centres and temporary services: 1 adult to 4 children aged 0 to 6, with no more than 24 children at any one time. A child can stay in a drop-in centre for no more than 2 hours in a row, and in a temporary service for no more than 8 hours (2016 Regulations, Reg 13 and Schedule 6, Part 3).
• Overnight services (care between 7pm and 6am): 1:3 for children aged 0 to 1 year, and 1:5 for children aged 1 to 6 (Schedule 6, Part 4).

Rooms with mixed ages

A single ratio is not applied to a whole room. Where children of different ages, or on different types of service, share a room, the requirement is worked out for each age range and then added up. In Tusla’s own worked example, a pre-school room has 16 children: 3 aged 2 to 3 on a sessional place (1:11), and on full-day places 3 aged 1 to 2 (1:5), 6 aged 2 to 3 (1:6) and 4 aged 3 to 4 (1:8). That adds up to 2.37 adults, so the room needs 3 adults (Tusla).

Who counts in the ratio

• Only appropriately qualified staff can be counted (Tusla).
• Unpaid workers are not counted, so an unpaid student on placement is not part of the ratio (Reg 11(9)).
• Staff on a break are not considered available to work with the children.
• If the person in charge is counted, their managerial duties must not take away from the direct care of children.
• Every pre-school service except a childminder and a sessional preschool must have at least 2 adults on the premises at all times. That covers full-day and part-time creches, and also drop-in, temporary and overnight services (Reg 11(8)(a)).
• Where a sessional preschool is run single-handedly by the person in charge, a second person who knows the service must be close by and able to come in an emergency (Reg 11(8)(c)).

Childminders

A childminder is not a creche, and different limits apply: no more than 5 pre-school children at a time, including the childminder’s own, and no more than 2 children under 15 months unless they are siblings (2016 Regulations, Reg 12). A childminder must also have a second person who knows the service close by at all times, able to come and help in an emergency (Reg 11(8)(b)).

Space per child

The Regulations also set a minimum amount of clear floor space per child (Reg 30 and Schedule 7):

When the sessional session has finished, the full-day or part-time space requirement applies (Tusla).

What age is a creche for?

In law, a pre-school child is a child under six who is not yet attending a recognised school, and creches, playschools and naíonraí are all pre-school services (Tusla). ECCE is open to children who are 2 years and 8 months on or before 31 August of the programme year (Citizens Information), and the National Childcare Scheme covers children aged from 24 weeks to under 15 years (ncs.gov.ie).

How to check ratios at a creche

• Ask to see the staff roster. Tusla expects services to display the current roster, which sets out the adult-to-child ratio each day for each area of the service (Tusla).
• Ask about your child’s room: how many children are in it, how many qualified staff, and how breaks, early arrivals and late collections are covered.
• Read the inspection reports. Search Tusla’s early years register. Reports show whether each regulation inspected, including staffing levels, was met. Our guide to Tusla inspection reports explains how to read them.

Next steps: browse all creches in Dublin by area, see what creches cost after the NCS, read how free preschool (ECCE) works, use our NCS calculator, find Montessori schools and sessional preschools in Dublin.

Questions parents ask

What is the ratio for babies in a creche in Ireland?

For children aged 0 to 1 year, the minimum is 1 adult to 3 children. This is the same in full-day, part-time and sessional services (2016 Regulations, Schedule 6).

What is the creche ratio for 1 and 2 year olds?

In full-day and part-time care it is 1:5 for children aged 1 to 2 years and 1:6 for children aged 2 to 3 years. In a sessional service it is 1:5 for children aged 1 to 2½ years (2016 Regulations, Schedule 6).

What is the ratio for 3 to 6 year olds?

1:8 in full-day and part-time care. In a sessional preschool, including ECCE, it is 1:11 for children aged 2½ to 6 years (2016 Regulations, Schedule 6).

Why is the ECCE ratio different?

ECCE is usually delivered as a sessional service of up to 3.5 hours, and the sessional ratio of 1:11 applies for children aged 2½ to 6. When a child in full-day care goes to the ECCE session, 1:11 applies for that session only; after it ends, the full-day ratio of 1:8 or 1:6 applies again (Tusla).

Do students count in the ratio?

Only appropriately qualified staff can be counted, and the Regulations say unpaid workers are not counted, so an unpaid student on placement is not part of the ratio. Staff on a break are not considered available to work with the children either (2016 Regulations, Reg 11, Tusla).

Where can I check whether a creche meets the ratios?

Ask the service. Tusla expects the current staff roster to be displayed and to set out the adult-to-child ratio each day for each area of the service. You can also read the service’s inspection reports on Tusla’s early years register, which show whether each regulation inspected was met. See our guide to reading Tusla reports.

Sources

Last checked: October 2026. Every rate, date and rule on this page comes from the official pages below. Rules change, usually from September each year, so confirm anything important at the source before you rely on it. CrecheFinder is independent and is not part of the Government, Pobal or Tusla.

• Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 221 of 2016), Regulations 11–13, 30 and Schedules 6–7 (irishstatutebook.ie)
• Tusla: Quality and Regulatory Framework, Full Day Care and Part-Time Day Care Service (Version 3.0, October 2026, PDF)
• Tusla: Quality and Regulatory Framework, Sessional Pre-School Service (Version 2.0, March 2026, PDF)
• Tusla: Early Years Inspection Reports (search the register)
• Citizens Information: Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE)
• ncs.gov.ie: Types of subsidy and reckonable income