There has been a rise in the number of children in daycare for the first time in three years, the national statistics office CBS said on Friday.

In total, the government paid childcare benefits for 767,000 children last year, a 1.6% increase on 2014 but still well below the 835,000 payments recorded in 2011.

The CBS said the rise is largely to do with the economic recovery which has resulted in more parents working and longer hours.

Around 340,000 pre-school children attend a creche, a similar number go to after-school clubs and 140,000 are looked after by a registered childminder.

The average cost of childcare per child was €5,700 last year, the CBS said. Of that, an average of 62%, or €3,500, was covered by government subsidies. In 2008, subsidies accounted for 81% of daycare costs.