Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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1312. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she is aware of early years education jobs being advertised with ‘no English/Irish required’; if she will review this from the point of view of the importance language plays in a child’s early development; the difficulty a lack of English could pose in such settings; how this will be supported; if she will review this from the point of view of the Government’s stated commitment to supporting the Irish language and integrating it into early learning settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10718/25]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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1341. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if her attention has been drawn to early years education jobs being advertised with ‘no English/Irish required’; if this will be reviewed given the importance language plays in a child’s early development, and the difficulty a lack of English could pose in such settings; how this will be supported; if this will be reviewed further to the Government’s stated commitment to supporting the Irish language and integrating it into early-learning settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11228/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1312 and 1341 together.

The State is not the employer and it is a matter for each service provider to manage their own recruitment processes in line with general employment legislation.

In addition, the relevant regulations for the sector (Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 and the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018) require that a registered provider shall ensure that each employee ‘is suitable and competent taking into consideration the nature of the needs of children’.

My Department is delivering on a long-term workforce strategy for the sector: Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in the sector including raising the profile of careers in the sector, establishing role profiles, career pathways and leadership development opportunities.

Under Pillar 5, Nurturing Skills commits to introduce over time a regulatory requirement for English language proficiency for Early Years Educators and School-Age Childcare Practitioners working in English-medium settings over an appropriate timescale.

To inform decision-making on the nature of such a requirement and an appropriate timeline for introduction, Nurturing Skills committed to establish a language competency working group to advise on a regulatory requirement, and to carry out research on language proficiency across the sector. My officials are currently in the process of commissioning research on language requirements in other jurisdictions and comparative sectors to inform proposals prior to establishing a consultation mechanism with key stakeholders on the matter.

My Department is working in collaboration with other relevant Departments and agencies, to develop a national plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) sector. The development of such a national plan is a commitment in the 5-Year Action Plan for the Irish Language. The national plan will also support the delivery of two commitments in First 5: the Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families: “Introduce measures to ensure that children in Gaeltacht areas have access to Irish-medium ELC provision” and “Develop mechanisms to provide Irish-language supports to ELC provision where there are high proportions of children who are learning through the medium of Irish”.

This national plan will also support the delivery of commitments in the Programme for Government to: “Support naíonraí and creches to ensure early education access in Gaeltacht communities and beyond” and “Plan the development of State-led facilities in tandem with the school building programme, including Irish-medium naíonraí”. This will be a cross-Government plan coordinated by the Department of Children that also includes the work of other relevant Government Departments and agencies.

A survey of Irish-medium early learning and care and school-age childcare settings including childminders was undertaken in 2022-2023 to obtain a baseline of the current level of Irish-medium provision in the sector. In addition, a public consultation and a programme of research, including a systematic literature review, took place in 2024. A consultation with children is nearing completion. These various data and information sources are informing the work of an inter-agency Advisory Group which has been established to support the drafting of the Comprehensive Plan which is underway.

In addition to the focus on Irish-medium Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare services, it is anticipated that the new national plan will also include measures to support English-medium early learning and care services to work within the updated Aistear early childhood curriculum framework, which was published in December 2024. The updated Aistear includes an aim of supporting young children to have an awareness and appreciation of Gaeilge and our cultural and linguistic heritage.

It is intended that the national plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare sector will be published later in 2025.