Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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299. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to confirm receipt of correspondence from a childcare provider in Dublin mid-west (details supplied); if she is aware of the issue outlined by the childcare provider; if the matter is being investigated with a view to ensuring a comprehensive reply and route of resolution is provided to the provider; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38339/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Officials from my Department have responded directly on the matter raised.

For your information, since its introduction in 2022, Core Funding has seen consistent increased State investment to the sector year on year and is set in year 4 to be worth over €390 million contingent on the establishment of new minimum rates of pay in the sector through updated Employment Regulation Orders (ERO).

This is an increase of over 50% since the scheme began in September 2022 with an allocation of €259 million.

As you may be aware, the fee management system was introduced with the substantial investment of Core Funding following the recommendations of the Expert Group, in the Partnership for Public Good report.

The first step of this process, which was approved by Government, was to limit increases in fee rates. As part of the progressive development of the fee management system under Core Funding, the Department introduced new developments to fee management in year 3 of Core Funding.

These developments included the Fee Increase Assessment process, which allowed for services charging very low fees to increase them up to an approved level, as well as a cap on higher fees for services joining Core Funding for the first time in the third programme year.

When these initial caps were announced in July 2024, it was signalled to the sector in public communications and within the 2024/2025 Core Funding Rules Document, that a cap on fees would apply to all Partner Services in the fourth programme year.

I do not want any service to be faced with viability concerns, and encourage any service encountering difficulties to avail of Departmental supports.

These supports are available where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their sustainability and can be accessed through the local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC).

Any service who would like to avail of advice or supports regarding their sustainability is encouraged to reach out to their local CCC.

I would strongly encourage services to avail of these supports while continuing to offer Core Funding and the benefit of the fee management system to parents.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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300. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide a breakdown of crèches, by county, in tabular form. [38376/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the subject matter of the Deputy's question relates to an operational matter for Tusla, I have referred the matter to them for a direct reply.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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301. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has any plans to reduce crèche fees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38377/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I recently announced the details of the new maximum fee caps for early learning and childcare services participating in Core Funding alongside record State funding of €390 million this year for the Scheme.

An initial maximum fee cap was put in place for new entrants to the scheme last year. New maximum fee caps will now be introduced for all new and existing services receiving this State funding this September, which will further lower the maximum fees that can be charged depending on the number of hours provided.

All of the fee caps will reduce the highest fees at each fee band in the country.

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.

The majority of services are already charging far less than the new maximum fees.

The Government has made significant progress in recent years in improving the accessibility, affordability and quality of early learning and childcare provision.

Investment in early learning and childcare is now at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025, clearly demonstrating the Government’s commitment to this area.

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme, which provides two years of pre-school without charge, enjoys participation rates of 96%. In a recent review of the ECCE Programme, over 70% of families on low income reported that they would not have been able to send their child to pre-school 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 early learning and childcare. The Scheme is progressive in nature ensuring the highest levels of subsidies go to families that need them most.

The NCS has undergone a number of enhancements in recent years to further improve affordability for parents. These include the extension of the universal subsidy to all children under 15 years of age and two increases to the minimum hourly subsidy, which is now worth a minimum of €96.30 per week for 45 hours.

Record numbers of children and their families are now benefiting from the NCS. Almost 220,000 unique children benefited from an NCS subsidy in 2024.

Children in childminding settings that have come forward for registration, following changes to the childminder Tusla registration requirements last September, can also benefit from NCS subsidies.

The fee management system introduced through the Core Funding Scheme has ensured that the investment in affordability is not absorbed by unnecessary fee increases.

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. The findings from this evaluation will inform the work of my Department in reaching the Programme for Government commitment to cap childcare fees at €200 per month per child within the lifetime of this Government.

A detailed Action Plan to build a more affordable childcare system will be developed, informed by stakeholder consultation, which will include the steps to deliver the €200 per month cap and outline the timeline for achieving this. Further progress on affordability will not be made in isolation and will be integrated with our efforts to improve access, availability and the quality of early learning and childcare provision.