Over 500 young children are still waiting for crèche places in Cavan, according to the latest figures from Pobal.
Early Childhood Ireland says low pay for staff is stopping services from expanding and wants more funding in next year's budget.
Local childcare provider Paula Donohoe, of Clever Cloggs in Ballyconnell says the numbers may be misleading as many children are on several lists, and worries its scaremongering parents.
However, she says poor funding has forced some crèches to close rooms because they cannot hire enough staff.
Paula agrees more investment is needed so no child misses out on early education.
Speaking to Northern Sound she outlined why investment in the sector is important; "If you are a graduate leaving college, €18 euro an hour is not reflective of four years of education on top of the 13 or 14 years that you done previous to that. Remember, we deal with the formative years and we are the most important part of the educational spectrum yet we're being treated like the poor cousins. I think its foolhardy not to invest hard in our early years sector."
