Ms Anne-Marie McMorrow has two sons, Dominic (10) and Kealan (five). She has made her arrangements for the summer holidays and estimates that the extra cost to the family budget will be around £900.

"I'm relying heavily on family and friends this year and I consider myself very lucky to have my family nearby," Ms McMorrow said.

Kealan already has a part-time childminder who will look after him for the extra hours during the summer.

The childminder's fee will almost double for the summer from £240 per month to £425/£500.

Dominic is booked into four different camps in the Bray area. He'll be attending the National Samba Soccer School, his football club's summer camp, his national school's summer camp and his hurling team's summer camp.

"He'll be occupied and supervised during this time but it's not childcare and I have to make other arrangements to have him collected at two o'clock or four o'clock".

The fees for Dominic's summer camps range from £50 to £75 per week.

"The money is an issue and it's an extra pressure for me as a working parent."

Ms McMorrow works fulltime but can bring work home occasionally.

She'll be looking for a minder for Dominic for the other five weeks and will probably need to take time off to cover the gap.