Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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1428. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth her plans to enact key commitments outlined in the Programme for Government (details supplied) in relation to childcare provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12306/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. The Programme for Government outlines a range of ambitious measures to support access to affordable and high-quality early learning and childcare.

Last year, a Supply Management Unit within the Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Division was established, and the Programme for Government articulates an intention that the unit be resourced and transformed into a Forward Planning and Delivery Unit to identify areas of need, forecast demand, and deliver public supply within the childcare sector where required.

This unit is developing a forward planning model to assist in identifying where unmet need/demand and areas of low supply exist. The model will seek to identify the nature and volume of different types of ELC and SAC places across the country and how that aligns with the numbers of children in the corresponding age cohorts at local area level. This model 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.

This unit is also responsible for public capital investment in the sector. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme was launched on the 4th of November 2024. Applications for this scheme have now closed and an appraisal process has begun. The primary focus of the Extension Grant Scheme is to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care. Appraisal of applications for this scheme will consider the supply and demand in the area around the proposed projects and seeks to prioritise funding for areas with the biggest supply/demand mismatch. €25m will be made available this year to deliver additional capacity under the Scheme and I expect to announce the outcome of the application process in the coming weeks.

In relation to social enterprises, as outlined in the National Social Enterprise Policy, Trading for Impact, early learning and childcare sector includes many social enterprises. Indeed, there are more social enterprises in early learning and childcare than in any other sector. The social enterprise model is already a feature of the sector.

The Expert Group report on the sector's funding model, Partnership for the Public Good, looked at social enterprises and acknowledged the values-based model underpinning them. Encouraging such values, and prioritising the public good dimension of early learning and childcare, underpins the whole approach to the funding model.

I fully agree we should be supporting and encouraging such values in the sector. I am well aware that many providers are motivated a desire to educate, support, and work with children, rather than profit, and that they re-invest surpluses into their business. My officials continue to examine further opportunities to support such services.

The Programme for Government also commits for the first time to provide capital investment to build or purchase state-owned ELC and SAC facilities, to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. State ownership of ELC and SAC facilities is a very substantial and significant shift in the policy direction that the Department has pursued heretofore (i.e. privately delivered provision with increased levels of public funding and public management) and offers the potential for much greater scope to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignment with estimated demand.

We will continue to grow State involvement and investment in the sector, while working in partnership with private providers. Investment in early learning and childcare is now at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025, clearly demonstrating Government commitment to this area.

The ECCE programme, which provides two years of preschool without charge, enjoys participation rates of 96% each year. Over 70% of families on low income report that they would not be able to send their child to preschool without this programme. The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) complements the ECCE programme, providing subsidies – both universal and targeted - to reduce the costs to parents for children to participate in ELC and SAC.

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 allows for 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.

My Department is very much in the planning phase for further reform and development of the sector. Core to this planning will be engagement with stakeholders, including from the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum. The Programme for Government outlines the intention to undertake a broad consultation and publish a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capacity. This plan will enhance parental choice through ongoing support for public, private and community provision, as well as childminders.