Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)
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352. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of providers currently accessing the Core funding steam for early childhood and education services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8731/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Currently, 92% or 4414 of eligible services have signed up to Core Funding year three. This means that more services have opted into the scheme this year, than in programme years one or two.

Core Funding represents a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme (September 2022-August 2023) rising to €287 million in year 2 (September 2023-August 2024) and €331 million in year 3 (September 2024-August 2025).

This year the scheme has continued to support increases to capacity and accessibility for parents whilst also ensuring improved quality and sustainability of Partner Services.

Further increases in year four of the Scheme, announced in Budget 2025, will see the total allocation increase to over €390 million. Further details on the fourth programme year will be announced to services in advance of the application opening.