Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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7. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the review of the 2001 planning guidelines for childcare facilities. [50179/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Minister for an update on the review of the 2001 planning guidelines for childcare facilities whereby for 75 new homes, there should be the provision of 20 childcare places. The link between supply of new homes and childcare places has not been working effectively. I welcome how the Minister has addressed this as an issue of concern and I seek an update on her progress.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The 2001 planning guidelines for local authorities on early learning and childcare settings were issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. The guidelines are intended to ensure a consistent approach to the treatment of planning applications in respect to the land use planning aspects of early learning and childcare provision. The programme for Government commits to reviewing the 2001 childcare facilities guidelines for planning authorities to ensure early learning and childcare spaces are provided and put to use for the purpose they were intended. The Planning and Development Act 2024 and the publication of the national planning framework now provide a strong basis from which to pursue this work.

An early learning and childcare planning matters working group, with officials from my Department and the Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Education and Youth was established in 2024 and has met on a number of occasions in 2024 and 2025. In addition, meetings have been held over summer of this year with members of the working group and officials from different local authorities who were nominated by the city and county managers association planning and land use committee. This engagement with nominated planners was effective in identifying a number of important considerations for the review and is now informing a wider engagement with local authorities. These issues include ensuring that buildings developed on foot of the guidelines meet the needs of the local population and are fit for purpose, and balancing the need to ensure sufficient provision for children and families, regardless of the size or housing type of the development, with ensuring that buildings are effectively operated as intended. In parallel, planning is underway to ensure the views of other stakeholders who will have an interest in the revised guidelines are catered for.

I have engaged with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to discuss how best to support and inform the drafting of revised guidelines under the new Planning and Development Act. I will meeting him and his officials again shortly. The approach more widely to ensuring appropriate levels of early learning and childcare supply is core to the work of my Department and will be further articulated in the context of the action plan to build an affordable, high-quality and accessible early learning and childcare system.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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We have a rudimentary system from 2001, which provides that for every 75 homes the developer must provide 20 childcare places, but it is not working for a variety of reasons. The provision of childcare infrastructure cannot be based on such a basic formula alone. Like schools, we need a proper forward planning system based on demographics, assessment of need, new residential developments and that delivers appropriate childcare buildings based on the needs of that community. Instead, what we have now is crèches being built that are not fit for purpose or too expensive to be bought, kitted out and made financially viable for providers. We have empty crèches in areas of massive childcare demand. We have developers building crèches as future houses because they view as them as a liability. They are trying to get out of building them. This is not just happening because developers want to sell crèches as houses. It is because we currently do not have a joined-up planning system that views the provision of childcare in local communities as essential. We have the opportunity to address that through the programme for Government. What are the timings? Will it be part of the action plan?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy and I have discussed this at length. It is my strong view that the notion of 75 homes and providing 20 childcare places is not fit for purpose. We have also discussed that there are many units across the country that were built for purpose childcare but either went for a change of use or were certainly not used for the purpose for which they were intended. As the Deputy referenced forward planning, the forward planning unit of my Department, which is up and running, will be a significant tool to identify where there are specific issues. We rely on the laser-like commitment of local authorities in this regard. To ensure that we have the appropriate guidelines in place a series of meetings took place over the summer. I acknowledge the engagement we have had with city and council managers and the specific work being done with nominated planners and wider planners to ensure that we have a system that is fit for purpose and will inform the work we are doing. I acknowledge the engagement of the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, and indeed, my ongoing engagement with him. Another meeting is scheduled shortly.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Is it envisaged that the review will form part of action plan? I am looking forward to that action plan because to address any of the issues in childcare, whether that be affordability or availability, we have to address all the issues in childcare, such as infrastructure, staff and retention and funding models. Does the Minister agree? Some of our small providers are struggling with core funding. I wish to give one example. A service opened in 2004 and it is a Montessori and after school. In those 20 years, she raised the fee twice. Each time it was less than 5%. She applied for a fee adjustment because she is desperate to keep her service open and stay in core funding. She was permitted to increase her full-time monthly fee by €4.40. She is still €100 under the county average while the two nearest services can charge €250 and €300 more per month because they were established after her. How does the Minister envisage addressing sustainability issues and an equity between services through the action plan? We want to keep trusted services that have been operating for 20 years open.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The entire purpose is to ensure that we can maintain the services that we have, and indeed, provide for new services to meet the demands that are out there. The Deputy will have to concede that the Government is the most significant contributor at this point in time to this sector. The investment from the Government is quite phenomenal but equally so, it is the objective of the Government where necessary for it to step in in the provision of State-led facilities to do that going forward and to support existing providers to be sustainable going forward.

I am not familiar with the case the Deputy raised. I am happy for that case to be examined. However, there is a sustainability fund within the Department. There is a fee adjustment in the review, but it does take into account what happens throughout the county. The purpose of the action plan is to ensure that it focuses on all aspects of delivering or building an affordable, high-quality and accessible early learning and childcare system. The Government is committed to publishing that.