Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I wish to talk to the Minister of State about the absence of childcare provision in Dublin Central. I use the example of Dublin Central because it is the area I am proud to represent, but I could be talking about any community to be found the length and breadth of Ireland.

Childcare provision and access to childcare, where it exists, is simply too difficult. The Government made a commitment before the election, promising to progressively reduce childcare costs to €200 monthly under the national childcare scheme. In reality, parents in Dublin Central are still facing the same crippling costs. This is only, though, if they can even get a childcare place at all. In communities across Dublin Central, families are scrambling for places. Some parents are registering their children before they are even born and still cannot secure a spot. What good is a childcare subsidy, however good it may be to the parents lucky enough to get a place, when most parents cannot even find a place to look after their children?

Childcare provision is about communities. Parents cannot go back to work if they cannot find anywhere for their children to be minded. Even before I came down to the Chamber, one of the last emails I received was from a constituent in East Wall. She and her partner recently had a child and they are now scrambling to find a place. The fear is even greater because they see a 600-unit apartment block being built above them and know this is going to limit their ability to find a childcare place even more. There was genuine fear in the community in Stoneybatter in recent months because an afternoon childcare service was at risk of closing. It is very much on-off as to whether that is going to happen, but even the prospect of removing such an afternoon service sent the community into a spiral. Protests were held outside and the matter has been raised in the Dáil several times. This is the reality of what we are dealing with now, be it in East Wall, Stoneybatter, Cabra or the North Strand. When we are knocking at doors, the most important issue coming up all the time is access to childcare provision.

Some crèches are closing because the community providers are not so much walking away as they are closing their doors because circumstances mean they have to. Their workers who deliver incredible care and education - it is an education they are delivering - are underpaid and burned out. My colleague, Deputy Farrelly, rightly asked in the Chamber when the Government would consider pay parity for early years professionals with colleagues in education. I do not think we are anywhere close to that happening.

The Tánaiste, whom I want to take at his word, said Ireland's childcare model should be brought into the public sphere and linked more closely to education. I agree fully with that view. I am sure we all do. When will that process start? I ask because this principle is nowhere to be seen around the streets of Dublin Central. Deputy Farrelly also suggested a "páistecare" approach, this being similar to the all-party platform we had for the implementation of the Sláintecare model. In the lead up to the election, I think we all agreed we needed some form of publicly funded model of childcare provision, so why do we not all get around a table and decide how that could best happen? That would be an excellent solution and would demonstrate to the public, exasperated by this issue, that their elected representatives are doing all we can in their service. In the absence of such an approach, what we have is a two-tier system where childcare is expensive even if people are lucky enough to get it.

There are solutions to this problem. On Dublin City Council, for example, my colleagues, Cat O'Driscoll and Daniel Ennis, asked for an audit of buildings derelict around the city centre or in the possession of the council to see which of them might be suitable, with the right level of work and investment, for childcare facilities. In the absence of this being done, we really are struggling. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's response. I know he is not the Minister of State tasked with special responsibility in this area, but I understand he is here in that capacity and we can have an exchange.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this important issue and offering me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister. Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and care and school-age childcare is a key priority for the Government. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. An annual sector profile demonstrates an 8% increase in enrolments between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 years. Within the Dublin city local authority area, enrolments grew by 2,235. Core funding application data shows that, between year 1 and year 2 of the scheme, the annual place hours increased by almost 8%. The Tusla register of services demonstrates a net increase in the numbers of registered early learning and childcare services in 2024.

However, it appears that demand for early learning and care and school-age childcare remains higher than available supply, particularly for younger children and in certain parts of the country. Demand for early learning and childcare beyond sessional preschool provision is highly elastic and shaped substantially by families' individual composition, circumstances and preferences; employment patterns and income; and the price and availability of services. A forward planning model is in development, which will be central to the Minister’s plans to achieve the policy goals set out in the programme for Government to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system, with State-led facilities adding capacity. The Government continues to support the ongoing development and resourcing of core funding, which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced. Core funding funds services based on the number of places available regardless of whether they are filled. This provides stability to services and reduces the risk associated with opening a new service or expanding an already existing service. For the current programme year, the allocation for core funding allows for a 6% increase in capacity. Additional funding was secured in budget 2025 to facilitate a further 3.5% increase from September 2025, in the fourth programme year.

The Government is also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. Capital funding has been allocated to the early learning and childcare sector under the revised national development plan. This will enable significant investment in early learning and childcare. The building blocks capital grant schemes are operating over 2024 and 2025. The primary focus of these schemes is to increase capacity in the one- to three-year-old, pre-ECCE, age range for full day care.

The building blocks expansion grant scheme was operated by the Department last year. Twenty-three services were awarded capital grants of between €25,000 and €100,000 for projects to undertake renovation of or upgrades to existing space to cater for more children. This funding has delivered almost 300 affordable new places for one- to three-year olds, with approximately 100 of those places in Dublin.

The building blocks extension grant scheme was launched on 4 November 2024. Applications for this scheme have now closed and an appraisal process is under way. The primary focus of the extension grant scheme is to increase capacity in places for one- to three-year olds, with early childhood education range for full day care. Some €25 million will be made available this year to deliver additional capacity under the scheme, and the Minister expects to announce the outcome of the application process in the coming weeks.

The Department funds 30 city and county childcare committees, which provide support and assist families and early learning and childcare providers. Parents experiencing difficulty with early learning and childcare needs should contact their local city and county childcare committee for assistance.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I do not doubt for a second that there is a genuine commitment across the Government to address the issue. How could there not be? It is a fundamental issue. However, I do not think it is working. The ECCE rates of €69 per week per child have clearly not been sustainable. I do not doubt the level of money that is being pumped into the childcare sector, but the outcomes are still the same. We have a crisis, and a crisis requires innovation in terms of how we respond. The páistecare model outlined by Deputy Farrelly is one workable solution if we can get around to developing a plan that is co-ordinated and agreed from all political parties because it is something that impacts all of us.

Audits of buildings through our city councils where there might be sites available is something we need if we are to make sure there is proper capital investment and identify locations in which childcare facilities can emerge where there were none previously. We must make childcare core infrastructure as part of every new development. There are 600-unit developments going up around the Docklands and no childcare facilities are being included. That is something we need to address.

I represent a constituency that is growing all the time, where women who are eager to get back to work need childcare places provided. This comes up as the number one issue at public meetings and at doors we knock on. We require a hell of a lot more innovation. Where we have childcare providers, we cannot lose them. There are examples of that in Stoneybatter. We certainly cannot lose anymore. Where operators are removing themselves from the market, the State has to step in and provide adequate childcare provision. We need innovation. We need to do more than just throw money at a bad system. We need proper planning, co-ordination and implementation.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Early learning and childcare is an area that has seen rapid and significant developments and has had a substantial increase in investment in recent years. In particular, we have made good progress in affordability for parents, pay for staff and the inclusion of children with disabilities. However, we need to go further in the coming years. We need to support parents and educators and make provision right across the early learning and childcare sector, with a focus always on ensuring there is a positive experience for children.

The national childcare scheme has increased subsidy rates paid to families, which, along with fee controls and other reforms to the scheme, are delivering much greater affordability for parents. Out-of-pocket costs for some families remain much too high, though. That is why the programme for Government builds on the initiatives we had in recent years. For the first time, the Government is committing to introducing an element of public provision with State-led facilities to add capacity. Taking a more strategic approach to forward planning and the option of public delivery options, there is a much greater scope to influence the types and number of places available and to better align those with families’ needs. Importantly, we are committing to progressively reducing the cost of early learning and childcare to €200 per child over the lifetime of this Government. Officials are examining this ambitious commitment and exploring approaches on how to most effectively achieve this objective.