
It's expected 1,300 childcare providers will shut to highlight the ongoing crisis.
Creche owners who are taking part in a protest next week are set to lose out on hundreds of euro in state funding.
The protest is being organised for next Wednesday by the Early Years Alliance to demand a 'sustainable solution to the childcare crisis'.
But the Department of Children has told childcare providers they'll be docked state funding for the day if they take part.
Regina Bushell - Managing Director of Grovelands Childcare in Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore - feels this is further evidence of the pressure the Department of Children is putting on the sector: