Nobody said it was going to be easy.

Still, shelling out the value of an extra mortgage payment every month was never supposed to be part of the parenting experience, right?

That’s exactly the situation facing many young families in Cork at the moment, as the average cost of full-time childcare for one child was revealed to exceed €896.

According to a Newstalk survey of 130 childcare providers nationwide, the cost of having a two-year-old child cared for in a creche five days a week continues to rise.

In Dublin, the figure has increased by €84 in just 12 months, hitting €1,047 per month in 2018.

The average rate nationally is now €745 a month.