Parents disappointed

Day nursery closes again after one year

After just over a year, the crèche in Gilgenberg will close again at the end of the year. (symbolic image)(Bild: mattegg - stock.adobe.com)

Because no childcare staff can be found, the crèche in a small Innviertel community has to close again after just over a year. The desperate parents are left without childcare at the end of the year and face massive problems.

 The road to becoming the number one children's state - as often conjured up by Deputy Governor Christine Haberlander (ÖVP) - is a bumpy one. This is shown by a recent example from the Innviertel municipality of Gilgenberg. A crèche for children under the age of three was supposed to open there in 2023, but the project turned out to be a disaster. Problems arose shortly after the opening. Because Gilgenberg, with its 1355 inhabitants, has comparatively few children who go to a crèche, Mayor Christian Huber had handed over the care to the Innviertel childminders.

Problems since the beginning
But after just three days, the first childminder resigned. Regular supervision was no longer possible. "I would have had a place in a crèche in the town where I work, but I was promised that I would have childcare at home. Now I don't have any. Fortunately, my boss is understanding and I can use up my remaining leave," said one of the mothers affected at the time.

Mother in despair
As of this week, the project has finally come to an end. Because the Innviertel childminders are unable to find any childminders, the service will be discontinued on December 31. "This is a catastrophe because there is no place for my daughter in the neighboring communities either. I have problems at work, the whole situation has made me ill," says one mother in despair. Local head Huber: "My hands are tied, unfortunately the childminders' association can't find anyone." He offered to pay the childminder's fee if they could find a place in a neighboring municipality.