Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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616. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of childcare spaces available in County Louth from 2020 to 2024, in tabular form; and what actions have been taken to increase those numbers over the years. [9360/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Each year, Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile. The most recent published capacity data for the 2022/23 programme year estimated that there were 5,278 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services in County Louth.

Estimated data for the number of children enrolled in County Louth, and the proportion of services with at least one vacancy and services with waiting lists is included in tabular form below:

It is important to note that waiting list data should not be used as a measure of overall demand for ELC and SAC places. While waiting list data can be used to give an indication of demand for places for a given age group or service type not all services operate a waiting list; an individual child may be on multiple waiting lists in different services.

Data from the 2023/24 AEYSP is currently in preparation for publication and the results will be published on the Early Learning and Childcare data website in the coming weeks. The Capacity Section of the website provides information on the number of children enrolled, services with vacant places, and services with a waiting list.

Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government.

Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. An annual sector profile demonstrates an 8% increase in enrolments between 2021/22 and 2022/23. Core Funding application data shows that between Year 1 and Year 2 of the scheme, annual place hours increased by almost 8%. The Tusla register of services demonstrates a net increase in the numbers of registered early learning and childcare services in 2024. However, it appears that demand for Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare remains higher than available supply, particularly for younger children and in certain parts of the country.

A forward planning model is in development which will be central to my Department's plans to achieve the policy goals set out in the Programme for Government to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system, with State-led facilities adding capacity.

My Department continues to support the ongoing development and resourcing of Core Funding which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced. Core Funding, which is in its third programme year, funds services based on the number of places available, whether or not they are filled. This provides stability to services, and reduces the risk associated with opening a new service or expanding an already existing service. For the current programme year, the allocation for Core Funding would be able to capture almost a 6% increase in capacity. Additional funding was secured in Budget 2025 to facilitate a further 3.5% increase from September 2025, in the fourth programme year.

The Building Blocks Expansion Scheme which operated in 2024 allocated grants to projects to undertake renovation or upgrades to existing space to cater for more children aged from 1-3. One service in County Louth was awarded funding under this scheme.

In 2025, €25m has been allocated to the Building Blocks Extension scheme. The primary focus of this scheme is to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care. It will provide funding to support services to deliver thousands more of affordable early learning and childcare places. Applications for this scheme have now closed and an appraisal process is underway. I hope to announce the list of successful applicants in the coming weeks.