Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Boland for raising this matter. The Government is fully committed to delivering high quality, affordable and accessible childcare for all families. It is interesting to point out that investment in early learning and care in school-age childcare has quadrupled in the past decade, increasing from €260 million in 2015 to €1.37 billion in 2025. The number of enrolments has increased year on year from 2021 right up to 2023 and 2024. In 2025, the Government will allocate approximately €1.37 billion for early learning and care and school-aged childcare. That is a €261 million, or 24%, increase on last year's funding. This will support the universal ECCE programme, benefiting more than 107,000 children; the access and inclusion model, enabling approximately 7,800 children with disabilities to access ECCE and wider early learning centres, ELCs, both during and outside of term time; the national childcare scheme with funding for an additional 7,500 children on average per week; and €14 million more in subsidised hours. There is also much more.

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