Results 181-200 of 20,049 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Contracts (18 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Reducing the costs to parents for children to participate in early learning and childcare is a core focus of my Department. This includes reviewing deposit rules across each early learning and childcare scheme. Under Core Funding, in which over 92% of the sector participate, service providers agree that they will not charge any non-refundable deposits (including...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Specifically, that is a matter for the Department of Social Protection. I am speaking to our remit, which is childcare provision and care for disability.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: As I said at the outset, there are 20 social workers in County Clare. All of the three current vacancies are due to be filled this summer, depending on whether they relate to a career break, maternity leave or whatever else, so they will be at their full capacity of 23 social workers. I recognise the invaluable work of social workers. Across the country, there is a lack of social workers...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I appreciate the Deputy's ongoing engagement with me on this matter. She will be aware that earlier this month I announced the introduction of maximum fee caps for all partner services in core funding from September 2025. The fee freeze will remain in place for all partner services with fees below these caps. This is an important step towards the reduction of childcare fees to €200...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy very much. I acknowledge that she has consistently raised the very specific challenges in her area. She is correct that the cost of childcare is one thing; the remuneration of staff is another element of it; and there is also the availability of places or access to places. In that respect, there are a number of different initiatives. We already discussed that two weeks...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputies for their questions. On the last point, I have been very clear and the programme for Government is very clear: this will be delivered over the lifetime of this Government. It will be done in an incremental manner. One of the first key steps was taken just last week when we announced a fee cap would be put in place. We will build on that as we go forward. Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: We absolutely recognise that there are areas across the country where it is extremely challenging for the needs of parents to be met. For this reason, the Department is taking a number of initiatives, such as the building blocks extension scheme to provide assistance for an existing provider to put on an extension and to provide for more places. Where that is not a possibility and where no...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I will begin by addressing Deputy Gould's points. The express purpose last year of introducing the guidelines to schools was to ensure that they would have a freedom, at the end of the school day, to introduce things like after-school provision. As part of the guidelines, schools were informed that any funding they received through that would not impact on any grants they received from the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The Department funds the provision of a range of Tusla services in County Clare, including family resource centres in Shannon, Kilrush, Ennistymon and Killaloe. These services do great work with children and families throughout Clare, and I am delighted to be able to support that work. According to information provided by Tusla on the number of social workers in Clare, I have been informed...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I confirm that the Department allocated additional funding to Tusla in 2023 and 2024 and there was record investment in 2025. This included increased capital investment. Regarding foster care, 87.2% of all children in State care are cared for in the foster care setting. I cannot overstate the importance of this. It is a great opportunity for children to be placed in the foster care...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. To be clear, I am under no illusions regarding the importance of retaining staff in this sector. I have been clear on that from the outset. We can make all the progress we want in having additional places and more accommodations available but if we do not have staff working in the sector, we achieve nothing at all. Suffice to say, the Government has put €45...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank Deputies Cooney and McAuliffe. I will go to the last question first. The building blocks scheme has been positively welcomed and will deliver an additional 1,500 places, which is hugely important. The budget available for that was €25 million and I appreciate this brings its own constraints but it is delivering 1,500 additional places. As I previously outlined, we are also...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I acknowledge the Deputy's question which specifically asks about after-school and general childcare places. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing, which is an important point to make at the outset. The estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% between 2022 and 2024. Enrolments in Cork county and city each increased by almost 29% in the same period....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. Every year it is normal for some services to open and for some services to close. The year 2024 saw a five-year high in the number of childcare services opening and a five-year low in the number of early learning and childcare services closing. A total of 357 services opened, while 131 services closed, which resulted in a net increase of 226 childcare services opening...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Obviously it is a core objective of the Government that we would maximise the number of providers in place. To do this we are lending support to private providers through schemes such as building blocks. We have also said we will step in where there is an absence of providers in an area. We are doing work on how this public model would look and what it would look like. Issues have been...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. Earlier this month, I announced the introduction of maximum fee caps for all partner services in core funding from September 2025. The fee freeze will remain in place for all partner services with fees below these caps. This is an important step towards the reduction of childcare fees to €200 per month over the lifetime of this Government. Maximum fee caps...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I want to be clear. This is a commitment over the lifetime of the Government. The more quickly we take steps the better, and the more quickly we will be able to deliver. In the fewer than five months during which the Government has been in office, we have taken the first very significant step regarding fee caps. We should not underestimate the significance of fee caps. Families who,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I have always been very clear that this is like a triangle. There is no point in reducing fees if there are no places for children to attend, and there is no point in having children available and reduced fees if we do not have staff who will work in the sector. There are three elements to this. On having sufficient places, I want to be clear. Sufficient funding has been provided by...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I acknowledge that many early learning and childcare services report recruitment and retention challenges. In general, these challenges are not caused by insufficient supply of staff, but by high levels of turnover. Data from the sector profile survey shows a turnover rate of 24.5% in 2023, with almost one third of the turnover rate due to staff moving from one provider to another. I note...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: There is agreement across the House that money ring-fenced for staff should go to staff. I acknowledge that has been Deputy Kerrane’s personal view from the beginning. I met joint labour committee representatives today and I have met them previously. While they are entirely independent of me, it is important I take every opportunity, as the Deputy has, to articulate that money on...