Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The availability of high-quality early learning and childcare is a key Government priority. My Department monitors early learning and childcare capacity on an ongoing basis, with a particular focus on responding to the unmet early learning and childcare needs of families.

The annual data captured by Pobal on behalf of my Department - through the Early Years Sector Profile Survey - is one important data source that allows us to monitor supply and demand.

Each year, Pobal compiles data from early learning and childcare and school age childcare providers which informs the Early Years Sector Profile Survey. The most recent data on availability shows that, on the whole supply for early learning and childcare is meeting demand, though there are pockets of undersupply in certain areas and for certain cohorts of children, in particular for babies and toddlers. Pobal advise that this data is not captured on a constituency/electoral division basis and is instead collected at a local authority level. Data captured from the Sector Profile indicated a vacancy rate of 8.5% across Dublin, lower than the national average of 12.3%.

DCEDIY is taking a number of steps to address issues of undersupply.

A funding scheme was introduced last year - Core Funding – which allocates funding for providers based on the cost of delivery. Under Core Funding, providers delivering early learning and childcare for babies and toddlers attract higher levels of funding, given the higher staffing requirements determined by the regulatory ratios for these children. Though only in operation since September 2022, initial analysis shows that this new funding scheme has given rise to a significant growth in capacity – with capacity growth for cohorts (such as babies and toddlers) and where there has been significant pressure on place. €9.27m has been secured in Budget 2024 to invest in a further 3% capacity growth from September 2024.

In addition, and as part of the design of the Building Blocks Capacity Grant Scheme, officials in my Department have commenced a needs analysis in the Early Learning and Childcare sector. This analysis will look at undersupply by region and age category, which will ensure that my Department can fund additional capacity where it is most needed. I hope to provide more details of these two grant schemes in the coming months.

There is also a network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCC) across the country, who are in a position to match children and families to services operating with vacant places. These CCCs engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.