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

We were able to announce a 25% increase in funding for early years in my Department yesterday, a very significant increase in funding. What that will do in 2025 I draw into three distinct areas.

As the Deputy knows, in 2024, we were able to achieve a second very significant cut in fees for parents through the national childcare scheme and, because of that, more parents are signing up to the NCS and more children are getting the benefit of that cut in fees. The primary goal in 2025 is to ensure there is funding for more children to take up the NCS. That will grow to 214,000 children using the NCS next year. When I started, 44,000 were using the NCS, so there has been massive growth over the last four years.

The second key area of investment that we set out yesterday is in core funding. There will be an increased allocation for providers in order that we can maintain the fee freeze, have more for administration and meet the much lower costs of inflation next year. We also have a separate dedicated allocation that will be paid out on foot of a new pay agreement between providers and staff that I hope will be negotiated next year. There is €15 million allocated for 2025; it will be €45 million over the full core year. That will allow for a pay increase, but the allocation will not be paid out until that pay increase is negotiated.

The final key element in terms of the uplift for next year relates to equal start, the DEIS model that I introduced last year. I think everyone really welcomed that and the additional supports for about 700 services that kicked in on 1 September.

About 32,000 children around the country are in equal start services. From next September, as well as getting lower staff ratios, we will be providing support for meals for those services. We are growing targeted supports to 32,000 children, most of them from our most disadvantaged areas.

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