Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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2383. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the commitments in the Programme for Government that have been commenced in relation to making childcare more affordable for families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42146/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government also commits to ensure that providers’ fees are open, transparent and equitable and readily available to parents, and to maintaining the fee cap.

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

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 (NCS) and the ECCE programme are deducted), the fee cap for 50+ hours of care is €354. 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. This is an important step towards the reduction of childcare fees to €200 per month over the lifetime of this Government.

In addition, the fee management system introduced through core funding has made sure the investment in affordability through the NCS is not absorbed by unnecessary fee increases.

Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance. For information, my Department has a list of all Core Funding Partner Services which is updated regularly on the Departments website under www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/how-to-find-a-partner-service/.

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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2385. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timeline of implementation of the centralised portal on pay transparency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42165/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The gender pay gap is a key measure of women’s economic empowerment and their equal representation in senior business roles and well-paid occupations. Under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, employers must publish their gender pay gap information.

In 2025, organisations with over 50 employees are required to report on their gender pay gap.

My Department is currently at an advanced stage in developing a centralised reporting portal into which employers will be able to submit their gender pay gap information. Information will be published in the autumn to provide employers with information on using the new portal and timelines for each stage of the reporting process.