Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

132. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children anticipated to benefit from the expansion of the maximum fee cap for childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32106/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The information required to give an accurate figure on the number of children who will benefit from the new Fee Caps is not currently available to my Department. However, I am confident that the introduction of maximum fee caps will benefit families who are facing the highest fees across the country.

Around 10 per cent of current Partner Services will have to reduce at least one of their fees if they wish to stay in Core Funding from September 2025, the allocation of which will exceed €390 million for the full programme year.

The latest data available to my Department from the week beginning 26^th May, shows 25,530 children were registered in the Partner Services potentially impacted by the new fee caps.

Not all of the families of these children will see a reduction in fees. This is because currently many services have fee options both above and below the new maximum caps.

Even for families who will not see their fess impacted by the Fee Caps, they will continue to benefit from the existing fee management conditions of the scheme, and the fee freeze which remains in place where fees fall below the new caps.

Just 10,800 children registered for subsidies under the National Childcare Scheme at this time were in services that are not currently Core Funding Partner Services

Many services operating outside of Core Funding have higher fees. These services can sign up for Core Funding at any time in the year, allowing the families using their services to benefit from the fee management rules under Core Funding in exchange for significant State investment.

I am confident this measure will not affect services’ viability. However, officials in my Department are committed to working with any such service to support them in delivering early learning and childcare for the public good. As such, in addition to the increased level of Core Funding for year 3 of the scheme and fee management developments, there are wider financial supports available from my Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

133. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures being taken to address the shortage of childcare places for the mid-Cork region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32413/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

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. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. Core Funding application data shows that between Year 1 and Year 3 of the scheme, annual place hours increased by over 15%. 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 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.

A Forward Planning and Delivery Unit has received additional resources and is focused on identifying areas of need, forecasting demand, and planning for the delivery of public supply within the childcare sector 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 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 recently 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 old's across the country. 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 across the country 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.