Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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89. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has addressed the IT issue whereby historical fee data was unavailable on the national childcare scheme website; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61745/25]

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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It may be a historical question at this stage but I want to ask the Minister if she or the Department have addressed the IT issue whereby historical fee data was unavailable on the national childcare system website.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to provide an update on the matter. I am pleased to confirm that historical fee data is now available on the national childcare service search for fees from the 2021-22 programme year to the present programme year. I acknowledge that this was very important to the Deputy and that he pursued it for some time. The portal hosting this information was originally designed to contain information for the current programme year only. However, the portal was recently upgraded following a concerted effort between the Department and Pobal, the scheme administrator, during a busy period with competing ICT demands due to the commencement of the 2025-26 programme year.

The Department is committed to ensuring information is transparent about fees charged to parents, in line with commitments in the programme for Government. Therefore, this welcome development ensures improved transparency in relation to early learning and childcare fees across the country. I would also like to highlight that in addition to service fees lists, historical and current, the following information is also readily available on the portal: contact details for early learning and childcare services, whether these services are private, community or childminding services; the services calendar, which provides details of services' operating hours per week and operating weeks per year and whether the service offers the ECCE programme; and details with regard to the national childcare scheme, including if it is taking part in the core funding scheme. A key element of the core funding scheme is to improve affordability for parents by ensuring that services have not increased the fees charged to parents above what was charged in September 2021, unless approved by the Department through the fee increase assessment process. While work was ongoing to upload these historic fees lists to the portal, Department officials also delivered a solution to provide access to historic fees list data from 2021-22 to the present through the network of city and county childcare committees. This allowed any individual with fee-related queries to engage with their local city and county childcare committee for additional information and support in understanding fees charged to them.

The network of 30 childcare committees across the country supports parents and guardians to understand their early learning and childcare options and keep an updated directory of early learning and childcare services in their local areas. They can also provide information and support in relation to fees. The contact details for all 30 childcare committees are available at gov.ie.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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This is good news. I think I last raised this matter on 29 April 2025 so I think it has taken a slight amount of time to get everything uploaded. It is so important for parents to be able to see what is available for childcare in their areas. We all realise that there is a lack of places, but where there are places, it is important for parents to be able to look at prices.

Previously, the Minister mentioned childcare committees. It was my understanding that the childcare committees had access to and were sharing the ECCE model, but I take it from the Minister's answer that we are now up and running. Parents will be able to access a website which will give them the detailed information that the Minister has just outlined. This is very important for parents to be able to make decision on costs and, in some cases, to ensure that costs are not prohibitive for them to secure a childcare place where they can actually find such a place. This is good news and I thank the Minister and the Department.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge that the Deputy has pursued this. It is important that parents have the maximum information available to them. It is also important that the system is seen to be transparent and that is the purpose of the information being made available. I can confirm that it went live on 30 October, just a short while ago. If parents need any additional information or assistance, I suggest that they contact the city and county childcare committees, which are available to assist them with fees data or indeed with any query, question or complexity they might face. If they feel there is a case of potential breach of core funding fee rules by a partner service, they may need to have this examined and a conclusion reached through the core funding fee review process. A link to a list of current services in contract for core funding can be found online, which is helpful to parents as well.