Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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208. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the immediate and long-term measures being taken to address the severe shortage of childcare places; how the Government is planning to reform the national childcare scheme to better support working families and promote flexible working arrangements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36311/25]

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.

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 in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children.

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.

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.

50 applications will be progressing to the next stage of the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme. These 50 applications come from a mix of Community Extension (24), Private Extension (7), Community Purchasing (4) and Community Construction (15) projects, which, when completed, will deliver 1,500 additional full time childcare places for 1-3 year olds.

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.

The forward planning model being developed draws on administrative data to map the child population and location of funded services, and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping tools to model the link between children and available services. This will enable the identification and comparison of areas of need with a consistent methodology.

The Programme for Government commits for the first time to provide capital investment to build or purchase state-owned early learning and childcare facilities, to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. State ownership of facilities is a very substantial and significant development 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.

The approach to capital investment in future years is being considered within the context of the Programme for Government commitments and the revision to the National Development Plan which is ongoing.

An evaluation of the National Childcare Scheme is due to start this year. This evaluation will review how the Scheme has performed to date and identify potential enhancements that could be made. Part of this evaluation will examine ways in which the National Childcare Scheme can better support working families and promote flexible working arrangements.

The findings from this evaluation will also inform the work of my Department in reaching the Programme for Government commitment.

In line with the Programme for Government, work is also under way to develop an Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare system, informed by stakeholder consultation. This will set out future steps to reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per child per month over the lifetime of the Government.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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209. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the case of childcare fees outlined to her office by email (details supplied); if clarity will be provided regarding the qualifying criteria under the proposed fee cap; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36368/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The fee caps I announced recently will only apply to Partner Services who sign up to Core Funding year 4. Programme year 4 begins in September, and any service signed up to Core Funding from September onwards will have to reduce their fees to meet the fee caps if they are currently charging higher fees.

For information, my Department has a list of all Core Funding Partner Services which is updated regularly on the Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/how-to-find-a-partner-service/

The new maximum fee cap, to be introduced for all Partner Services from September 2025, will place a limit on the maximum fees that can be charged across all types of provision.

This will reduce costs for families who are facing the highest fees across the country. The freeze on fees will remain in place for all other services whose fees fall below the new fee caps (90%).

Under these new fee caps, the fee for a full day place – of between 40-50 hours per week, the most common full day care operating hours – will be no more than €295 per week (before State subsidies under the National Childcare Scheme and the ECCE programme are deducted), the fee cap for 50+ hours of care is €354.

Officials from my Department have informed me that, if the service in question are offering the 50 hours+, they fall under Fee Band F. Please see Fee Band Table below for the maximum weekly fee for all Partner Services in the programme year 2025/2026.

All of the fee caps will reduce the highest fees at each fee band in the country. The majority of services are already charging far less than the new maximum fees.

A FAQ document for parents will be available on www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/campaigns/core-funding/ in the coming weeks. This document will include what the changes in programme year 2025/2026, including the introduction of maximum fee caps, will mean for parents.