A large group of childcare providers gathered outside City Hall in the past hour to highlight the lack of funding for their sector.
The group say the current funding of €69 per child per week from the government is not enough and are calling for a €7 increase which they say will cost around €30 million.
The Federation of Early Childhood Providers say some creches are struggling to stay open and have warned that cost of living pressures are impacting members who are already under severe financial pressure.
Around 500 members of the Federation closed their facilities across the country today leaving thousands without childcare.
Speaking to RedFM News at todays protest, Aiveen Casey from Shining Stars Montessori in Rochestown says people working in the sector don't feel like their efforts are being properly appreciated by the government:
"I have plenty of friends that are running preschools and they're under severe financial difficulty. Like if you're paying rent and you're paying staff, this huge costs and the money that's coming in is not reflective, obviously taking children from two years, eight months, the amount of work we do with them to get them totally able to go to school and be sociable, be able to do all the basics. You know, they start with us as babies, and when they leave after two years, they're really independent that the kids you know, and also they love coming to school, they it's their first chance out of home. It's huge responsibility taking in those children."
