Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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86. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding developments towards reaching the commitment to reducing childcare costs to €200 per child, per month, in the context of a number of childcare providers pulling out of the core funding scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59969/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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My question relates to the promised reduction of childcare costs to €200 per child per month, which we all campaigned for and we much anticipate. Will the Minister give us an update on the progress towards achieving that goal?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to ensuring access to affordable, quality early learning and care and school-age childcare, with an investment of €1.48 billion in the 2026 budget. This funding will allow the Department to build on recent progress in the gradual reduction of fees for parents while also supporting supply and the quality of provision. Budget 2026 enables core funding to continue to support fee control measures and will also allow for growth in the sector. The allocation of core funding in 2026 will ensure fees remain at 2021 levels for a majority of providers. As well as this, a new maximum fee cap will be set to reduce costs for families paying the highest fees across the country. Further details of the new lower maximum fee caps will be announced in the coming months. The 2026 allocation for core funding will also support implementation of the recently announced employment regulation orders, which led to a 10% increase in the minimum rate of pay for educators from 13 October. There will also be enhancements in year 5 of core funding to improve pay for educators and school-age childcare practitioners with implementation of new employment regulation orders. Further steps will be detailed in the action plan on accessible, high-quality, affordable early learning and care and school-age childcare, which the Department is continuing to develop. The action plan will be informed by a broad consultation process and will set out plans to achieve programme for Government commitments including the commitment to reduce maximum monthly fees to €200 over the lifetime of the Government.

I am aware that a small number of service providers have, regrettably, chosen to withdraw from the core funding scheme. However, uptake of core funding remains strong and the the absolute numbers of providers participating in the scheme nationally are at record levels. As of 10 November, there were 4,533 services signed up to core funding, which accounts for over 92.5% of all services and is the highest number of services signed up to core funding since it was launched in 2022. The number continues to grow. In the interest of clarity, transparency and consistent reporting, I have defined a service that has left core funding as any service that had a gap between contracts for core funding of four or more weeks. While the State cannot mandate providers to participate in the scheme, core funding has been designed with maximum participation of providers in mind, as reflected in the year-on-year growth of investment in the scheme rising from €259 million in year 1 to approximately €437 million in 2026.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge what the Minister said about the State not being able to mandate providers to get involved in the scheme. Would she also acknowledge that many have pulled out? It is a cause of huge concern for parents where their child is in a facility exiting the scheme rather than being included in the scheme. It would appear those providers are saying the incentives are not there for them to partake in the scheme. While she cannot mandate them to get involved, what incentives are being put in place? What specifically is the Government doing to target those childcare providers who are saying they cannot do this, that they cannot operate within this framework and that they are out? What are we doing as a Government to get them back in? The Minister and I and all the TDs in our parties campaigned to achieve this goal. I understand it is over a five-year period and it will come in phases, and I acknowledge the work that has been done so far. What can we say to assuage the concerns of parents whose children are in facilities exiting the scheme?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I concede that there are those that have left but, in the round, nationally, we have the highest level of providers choosing to be part of the core funding model, at almost 93%. We have never had it as high, notwithstanding, and I understand the challenges in the Deputy's area, that in certain areas people have chosen to opt out.

In terms of supports being provided in core funding, there has been an unprecedented investment by the State, in the first instance in year 1 of €259 million invested by the State, which in 2026 will rise to €437 million. It is hugely significant. Lots of providers say one of their greatest challenges is staff, staff retention and attracting staff. A total of €45 million was ring-fenced by the Government last year to ensure that would go towards improved salaries for staff. There are also schemes like the building blocks scheme to provide for providers.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate what the Minister said about the investment. I acknowledge the huge investment and commitment to making this happen. I also appreciate her acknowledgement that the pressures on childcare providers are not the same throughout the country. In a constituency like Dún Laoghaire where the cost of living and the cost of accommodation are so much higher, would the Minister consider, as part of the incentives being put in place to ensure childcare providers remain within the schemes, that the incentives might be varied from one area to another? That would be in recognition of the fact that the challenges are greater for childcare providers in an area like south Dublin than they might be in an area where the cost of living is lesser. Will the Minister commit, acknowledging this is going to happen in stages, to giving us a timetable for how this might happen, when it might happen and when each stage of the delivery of this commitment in the programme for Government might happen?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy articulated, this is a commitment across the lifetime of Government in terms of the delivery of the €200 cost. We have maintained the fee freeze at 2021 levels. Those paying who were paying the highest costs at €295 are now paying less than €200 when the subsidies are included. There is more work to be done in that space. It will be over the lifetime of the Government that we will reach the target of the €200. On the challenges in cost of living, I feel they are across the country. It is a difficult thing to say the cost-of-living challenges are greater in one party of the country than in another, notwithstanding the fact there can be nuances in different areas. I am happy to speak to the Deputy about that at another time. I would be challenged in terms of the understanding around that but I am happy to discuss it with him on another occasion.