Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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223. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will provide an updated list of all childcare providers currently availing of the core funding scheme; if she is aware that only a relatively small proportion of providers are participating, which has led to confusion among many parents seeking clarity on available supports, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40189/25]

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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225. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has assessed the level of awareness and understanding among parents regarding which childcare providers are participating in the core funding scheme, given the confusion reported by some families about fee structures and eligibility; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40191/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 223 and 225 together.

Currently, over 92% of eligible services have signed up to Core Funding year three. This equates to over 4,400 services and means that more services have opted into the scheme this year, than in programme years one or two.

For information, the 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 City/County Childcare Committee are available to support parents in finding suitable childcare and answering any questions they may have about the Core Funding scheme. Contact details for local City/County Childcare Committees can be found at www.gov.ie/en/publication/52b71-support-for-parents-city-and-county-childcare-committees/.

The new maximum fee cap, to be introduced for all Core Funding 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 use a Partner Service and are facing the highest fees across 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 introduction of fee caps for all Partner Services getting Core Funding contributes toward the long-term scheme goals of promoting affordability and accessibility for parents. A parent availing of 45 hours of care for their child, and who is also in receipt of the universal NCS subsidy, will not pay any more than €198.70 out of pocket costs, provided the service is a Core Funding Partner Service.

Participation in Core Funding is optional but it remains open to all registered providers subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the funding. It is a matter for providers to decide whether they wish to sign up to Core Funding, the significant financial supports it offers to providers and the certainty it gives to parents through the associated fee management measures.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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224. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will engage directly with smaller or community-based childcare providers as part of the core funding evaluation process, to ensure that the scheme’s accessibility challenges for providers of different sizes are fully captured; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40190/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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An evaluation of the first year of Core Funding and the development of an evaluation framework for Core Funding is currently underway. This project will examine the early implementation of Core Funding and make recommendations for future evaluations of the grant. Findings from the project are expected in Quarter 4 2025.

This project is being undertaken by Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service or IGEES policy analysts working in the Research and Evaluation Unit of my Department.

IGEES is an integrated cross-government service established in 2012 with the objective of enhancing the role of economics and value for money analysis in public policy making. It is part of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

The evaluation of the first year of Core Funding will not incorporate stakeholder engagement due to the nature of the evaluation being undertaken. It is expected that the recommendations for future evaluations will include stakeholder engagement including with providers of all sizes and types.