The vast majority of children are cared for by parents or relatives, according to a new survey. 
The survey, commissioned by Donegal Childcare Committee, found that 77pc of pre-school children were being looked after by either parents (64pc) or paid or unpaid relatives (13pc).
The survey showed that 81pc of primary school children were cared for by their parents, while 12pc were cared for by paid or unpaid relatives.
According to the study, 31pc of pre-school children are also being looked after in either crèches and Montessori schools (19pc) or by childminders (12pc), meaning that some parents are both caring for their children and using childcare options.
The figures confirm the findings of 2009 report from the CSO which suggested that fewer parents than previously thought use fulltime, paid childcare.
Only four per cent of children of primary school age are put in child-care centres, the figures from the Quarterly National Household Survey report, revealed.
The report showed that only 11 per cent of children of primary school age are in child care. Most of these are looked after either in their home by an au pair or nanny, or by a paid relative and not in an outside location, the report showed.
The vast majority of primary school children are looked after either by a parent (81 per cent), or by an unpaid relative (nine per cent), during day-time hours.
Other CSO figures also show that married women with children are much less likely to work full-time than men. For example, a third of married women in their 40s don’t work at all. Most of these will have children under 12. Another 127,000 women work fewer than 20 hours per week compared with only 32,000 men.
According to this latest, study, carried out by Indecon, nearly 26pc of parents with children at nine months said difficulties with childcare had prevented them looking for a job or training, or made them leave employment.
This rose to 56pc among families on low incomes who said childcare costs prevented them looking for a job.
According to an OECD report from 2010, Ireland is now the most expensive country in which to get child-care.
According to the survey, which looked at 32 industrialised countries, a double income couple with two children can pay up to 45 per cent of their net income on childcare.
An RTE investigation earlier this year revealed poor quality care and mistreatment of children made against two creches in Co. Dublin.
A 2009 report raised serious questions about the standards of childcare in Irish creches and Montessori schools.
The story, reported in the Irish Independent, revealed that parental complaints led to over 100 inquiries by the Health Service Executive (HSE) last year. The HSE, however, refused to reveal the full findings of its inquiries or what actions it ordered creches to take to rectify the problems.
Among the cases investigated were several instances of children being able to wander out of creches unsupervised, staff shouting at and threatening children and failures by childcare providers to inform parents after their youngster suffered injuries.
Reports suggest that children at one creche were unnecessarily strapped in their chairs and abruptly handled while they were resting or sleeping.