Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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2398. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childminders who have registered with Tusla and are part of the national childcare scheme since the expansion of the scheme to include childminders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42379/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, launched in April 2021, set out a pathway for the extension of registration to childminders in their own home. A key objective of the National Action Plan for Childminding is to enable parents who use childminders to benefit from State subsidies through the National Childcare Scheme (NCS). As a result of the commencement of the relevant parts of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2024 and the Childminding Services Regulations, which came into effect on 30 September 2024, childminders are now able to apply to register with Tusla and can therefore also take part in the National Childcare Scheme.

The most recent Tusla data indicates that there were 121 childminders who were registered with Tusla at the end of June 2025. Of these 121 childminders, some were previously registered on the preschool and school-age registers and accessing the NCS but have now transferred to the new childminding register since September 2024 under the new childminding-specific regulations.

According to the latest Pobal data on the NCS, 87 Tusla-registered childminders have a contract to take part in the NCS (either the 2024/25 or 2025/26 programme year).

A number of the other Tusla-registered childminding services may register for the NCS by the start of the new NCS programme year (2025/2026).

It is anticipated that the number of Tusla-registered childminders will continue to rise throughout the 3-year transition period (which began in September 2024) during which childminders are able to register with Tusla but are not yet required to do so.