Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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766. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current status of childcare waiting lists in Wicklow; the measures being taken to address the shortage of places for children under three years old; the means by which she plans to expand capacity and improve access to early learning and care services in the region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25724/25]

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.

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 2023/24 programme year estimated that there were 6,686 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services in County Wicklow. This data also indicated that 43% of service providers in County Wicklow had at least one vacant place and 40% had a waiting list.

Waiting list data is not a measure of overall demand for ELC and SAC places but can be used as an indication of demand for places for a given age group or service type. However, not all services operate a waiting list and an individual child may be on multiple waiting lists in different services.

Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by 25% from two years previously. 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.

Demand for early learning and childcare beyond sessional pre-school provision is highly elastic and shaped very substantially by families' individual composition, circumstances, and preferences; employment patterns and income; and the price and availability of services.

Last year, a Supply Management Unit was established in my Department, and the Programme for Government articulates an intention that it be resourced and transformed into a Forward Planning and Delivery Unit to identify areas of need, forecast demand, and deliver public supply where required.

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.

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 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.

The Government is also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is designed to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care. Core Funding partner services could apply for capital funding to physically extend their premises or to construct or purchase new premises.

I was delighted to announce yesterday the 49 applications which will be progressing to the next stage of the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme. These 49 applications come from a mix of Community Extension (24), Private Extension (7), Community Purchasing (4) and Community Construction (14) projects, which, when completed, will deliver almost 1,500 additional full time childcare places for 1-3 year olds . I look forward to seeing how these projects progress over the coming months.

My Department funds 30 City/County Childcare Committees, which provide support and assist families and early learning and childcare providers. The network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees can assist in identifying vacant places in services for children and families who need them and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.

Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance. Contact details for the Wicklow County Childcare Committee may be found at: wccc.ie