Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will answer the last question first. Yes, from our past experience I see it being taken up in full. There are usually more applications than we can fund.

Deputies Rabbitte and Moynihan are aware that the Department works very closely with Pobal on the waiting lists to the extent that it is possible and with the science available. We work regularly with Pobal in scenario analyses to anticipate where the need is and around the costs required to build the capacity. This is not to say that there might not be some gaps around critical infrastructure in certain areas. Again, this is part of the information that needs to continue to be fed into the Department, especially through the county childcare committees or directly.

In the context of the amount of money available for a big county such as Cork, I shall remember that.

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