Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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1185. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the engagement her Department has had with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage regarding the review of the Guidelines for Planning Authorities relating to Childcare Facilities; when the most recent engagement was; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29693/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings were issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

The Guidelines are intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country to the treatment of applications in respect to the land use planning aspects of early learning and childcare provision, for relevant planning applications.

While the 2001 Planning Guidelines have certainly contributed to the coming on stream of a considerable number of early learning and childcare facilities, I recognise that the Guidelines require updating to ensure that they are fit for purpose and can deliver the type of infrastructure required in future years. Key considerations will include the treatment of apartments in the determining of the level of early learning and childcare provision required and the size and design specifications of facilities required to be delivered.

My Department is currently engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine and review the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings with a view to updating them. A Working Group is in place between these Departments, as well as the Department of Education, to progress this project. It was established in 2024 and has been meeting in 2024 and 2025.

The first step towards revising the guidelines will be to engage with Local Authorities with experience of applying the guidelines to understand their impact and issues arising. The findings of this process will inform the scale and content of revisions to the guidelines. An inception meeting took placed yesterday, 9 June, involving members of the Working Group and officials from different local authorities who were nominated by the CCMA Planning and Land Use Committee.