Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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2368. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on planned changes to the planning guidelines for childcare facilities to facilitate more applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42044/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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2384. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress that has been made on the review of the 2001 Childcare Facilities Guidelines for Planning Authorities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42162/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2368 and 2384 together.

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 consistent approach to the treatment of planning applications in respect to the land use planning aspects of early learning and childcare provision.

The Programme for Government commits to reviewing the 2001 Childcare Facilities Guidelines for Planning Authorities to ensure early learning and childcare spaces are provided and put into use.

The Early Learning and Childcare Planning Matters Working Group, with officials from my Department; the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage; and the Department of Education and Youth, was established in 2024 and has met on a number of occasions in 2024 and 2025. In addition, a meeting was held by members of the group with officials from different local authorities who were nominated by the CCMA Planning and Land Use Committee in June 2025.

An important step in preparation for revising the guidelines is 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. Draft questions to seek further information about the experience of application of the guidelines from all local authorities have been shared with the nominees for their feedback before wider circulation.

In addition, my officials have collated relevant information to share with local authorities to support their consideration of relevant planning applications.

The approach more widely to ensuring appropriate levels of early learning and childcare supply is being considered by my Department and will be further articulated in the context of the Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system that Government has committed to publishing.

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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2369. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the transformation of the supply management unit into a forward planning and delivery unit to determine the supply of childcare needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42045/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Last year, a Supply Management Unit within the Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Division was established. In line with the Programme for Government commitment to resource and transform this Unit into a Forward Planning and Delivery Unit, additional staff have been allocated to the unit and it is pursuing an ambitious programme of work.

In particular forward planning model is being developed which draws on administrative data to map the child population and location of funded services, and GIS tools to model the link between children and available services. This will enable the identification of areas of need and can model the benefits associated with proposed interventions.

In the context of the significant new Programme for Government commitment 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 the Forward Planning and Development Unit has undertaken scoping work to explore options to introduce a segment of public provision. More detailed and extensive policy development and design work is ongoing in order progress to implementation stage, having regard to the wider emerging policy context as set out in the Programme for Government.

The Forward Planning and Delivery unit is also responsible for 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. I look forward to seeing how these projects progress over the coming months.

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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2370. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress that has been made to purchase or build state owned childcare facilities to create additional needs in areas who have the most unmet need; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42046/25]

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

Last year, a Supply Management Unit within the Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Division was established. In line with the Programme for Government commitment to resource and transform this Unit into a Forward Planning and Delivery Unit, additional staff have been allocated and it is pursuing an ambitious programme of work.

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 is developing a mapping tool using administrative data to identify areas where supply and demand for childcare are misaligned.

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.

Some early scoping work has been carried out to explore options to introduce a segment of public provision. More detailed and extensive policy development and design is ongoing in order progress to implementation stage, having regard to the wider emerging policy context as set out in the Programme for Government.

The Programme for Government outlines the wider ambition to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capacity. This includes additional resources for forward planning; the development of a capital programme to invest in state-owned early learning and childcare facilities; co-ordination with the school building programme; supports for services operating within schools; and developing planning guidance to ensure that early learning and childcare buildings are provided and put into use. This work will be supported through capital investment under the revised National Development Plan.

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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2371. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress that has been made by her Department to develop State-led childcare facilities in tandem with the school building programme in Dublin Fingal West; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42047/25]

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.

The Programme for Government sets out the ambition to work with schools to host before and after-school childcare in school buildings as well as planning the development of State-led early learning and childcare facilities in tandem with the school building programme, specifically referencing Irish medium naíonraí.

Currently 15% of early learning and childcare services operate from school premises. School age childcare in particular has seen significant expansion over the last two years, with enrolments having increased by more than half.

Last year, the Department of Education published Procedures on the use of school property and school sports facilities outside of school hours. This document provides encouragement and guidance to schools to make available facilities for early learning and childcare and other community purposes when not required by the school.

Officials from my Department have met a number of times with officials from the Department of Education’s Planning and Building Unit with a view to sharing expertise and information between the Departments and identify opportunities for future developments.

A Forward Planning and Delivery Unit has been allocated additional staff and is pursuing an ambitious programme of work. This includes the development of a mapping tool using administrative data to identify areas where supply and demand for childcare are misaligned. This forward planning model will be central to achieving 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 potential for development of State-led facilities in tandem with the school building programme will be considered as part of the wider capital plans to develop State-led services. This work will be supported through capital investment under the revised National Development Plan.