Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Investment in early learning and childcare is now at an unprecedented level, with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025 clearly demonstrating the Government’s commitment in this area. As well as addressing affordability, this investment has served to improve accessibility, availability and the quality of provision. The new programme for Government provides the impetus to go further and to deliver more high-quality early learning and childcare places at a cost that is affordable to families. It will build on the considerable work done to date, including the early childhood care and education programme, which provides two years of pre-school without charge and enjoys participation rates of 96% each year, and the national childcare scheme, which provides subsidies, both universal and targeted, to reduce the costs to parents for children to participate in early learning and childcare.

The national childcare scheme has already seen the extension of the universal subsidy to all children under the age of 15 and two increases to the minimum hourly subsidy in recent years. The minimum subsidy is now worth €96.20 per child per week for 45 hours of early learning and childcare. The fee management system introduced through core funding ensures that the investment in affordability is not unnecessarily absorbed by fee increases or uncapped fees.

The programme for Government commits to continuing to improve affordability and to reach the €200 per month cap within the lifetime of the Government. In addition, a forward planning model - which I have already referred to - is in development . This will be central to my Department's plans to achieve the policy goals to build an affordable, high-quality and accessible early learning and childcare system, with State-led facilities adding capacity. Officials are currently developing a mapping tool, using administrative data on schemes and population location, to identify areas where supply and demand are mismatched and are greatest. Very importantly, with regard to the voices of parents an Ipsos poll to parents will also inform future planning. This will enable the State to step in where it is necessary.

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