Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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32. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will engage with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the provision of childcare facilities in housing developments so that childcare is treated as essential infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38972/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings, issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provide the current framework to guide both local authorities, and developers and ELC and SAC providers in formulating and considering development proposals. The Guidelines are intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country to the treatment of applications in respect to the land use planning aspects of ELC and SAC provision, for relevant planning applications.

My Department is currently engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine and review the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings with a view to updating them. A Working Group is in place between these Departments, and an invitation has been issued to the Department of Education to be represented on this group as well. The group will develop data and evidence bases, review existing policy and implementation measures, and support co-operation and collaboration.

An important component of this work will be the development and dissemination of a DHLGH-initiated survey of planning authorities on the application of the 2001 Planning Guidelines.

More broadly, this year I established a Supply Management Unit within the Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Division of my Department. A key part of the Supply Management Unit’s remit is to develop capacity for monitoring, analysing and forecasting of supply and demand. The development of a forward planning model is currently underway. The model will seek to identify the nature and volume of different types of ELC and SAC places across the country, whether or not those places are occupied and how that aligns with the numbers of children in the corresponding age cohorts at local area level.