Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Ensuring high-quality early learning and childcare is accessible and affordable is a key priority for me and there are a number of funding programmes available through my Department that seek to improve capacity. The new core funding scheme, which we were just discussing, has a range of objectives, including capacity growth. Although this scheme has only been in place since last September, analysis shows that there has already been a significant growth in capacity, with capacity growth for cohorts where we were particularly short, such as baby and toddler rooms, and in areas and parts of the country where there has been significant pressure. To meet the cost of this capacity growth, I increased the original allocation for year 1 of core funding from €207 million to €259 million. In this year's budget I was able to secure an additional €28 million in core funding in year 2, which will allow for an estimated 3% growth in capacity in year 2.

Core funding is one mechanism to increase capacity. The second mechanism is through capital funding and giving providers money to expand or build new services. We have secured €70 million under the revised national development plan. The majority of this funding has been earmarked to improve capacity. Applications for the capacity grant open later this year and can be claimed in 2024.

As well as these funding programmes, we are also looking to support other forms of childcare, particularly childminders. We are working to ensure childminders can be appropriately regulated, allowing parents who use childminders to benefit from the national childcare scheme, thereby equalising between centre-based childcare and childminders.

There is also engagement between my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the 2001 planning guidelines in terms of the design and delivery of early learning and childcare settings when significant new housing estates have been built.

See this speech in context