Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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1963. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of parents with children attending a nursery (details supplied); the actions she will take to engage with management of this childcare centre on these concerns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46007/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is aware that Once Upon a Time has regrettably chosen to withdraw four of its ten services from Core Funding.

My Department, through the local Childcare Committees, has engaged directly with Once Upon a Time to highlight the benefits of staying in Core Funding, not only for their services but also for the families who avail of them. My Department is hopeful that the provider may reconsider their decision, as so many others have over the past three years.

In the interest of clarity, transparency and consistent reporting, I have defined a service that left Core Funding as any service that had a gap between contracts for Core Funding of 4 or more weeks. There are a number of reasons that a service might fall into this definition, for example a service could have withdrawn from the scheme, been removed from the scheme for breach or rules, or experienced a delay in re-contracting following a change of circumstance application or between programme years. Many services have left and later re-joined the scheme. There may be a small number of services who left the scheme and subsequently closed at a later date and are not captured in the figures below.

As of 5 August 2025, there were 4,807 services listed as being open on the Early Years Platform, of which 141 (3%) had left Core Funding at one point over the past 3 years and continue to operate outside of this scheme. A further 336 services (7%) had left Core Funding at one point over the past 3 years but later rejoined and are currently signed up to the third year of the scheme. The overwhelming majority of services, 4,056 or 84%, have continued to participate in Core Funding from the date on which they first signed up for the scheme.

The State is providing Core Funding to promote the interests of children and their families and workers in a privately operated sector.

Once Upon a Time is currently receiving Core Funding for 10 services. The table below shows that the Core Funding provided to Once Upon a Time has increased from €1,568,610 in year 1 of the scheme to €2,176,741 in year 2 and to €2,566,964 in year 3.

Core Funding for Once Upon a Time services is projected to increase to €3,278,964 from September, which would be an increase of 109 per cent on its funding in 2022. The projection assumes new Employment Regulation Orders are in effect and therefore includes new funding specifically ringfenced for improvements to staff pay.

Where the place is filled, this allocation towards a fulltime place is on top of the fee charged for that place by the service (which is met by a combination of State subsidies and parental contributions). The elements of Core Funding for graduate lead educators and managers and the share of the new ringfenced funding for staff pay for is also additional income to the services.

The Core Funding Scheme is designed to maximise participation rates of services in this private sector, however the substantial level of investment offered through the Scheme has conditions attached to:

• reduce costs for families,
• deliver improved wages for staff,
• improve service quality; and
• protect the investment of taxpayers’ money so that the State can be assured it is being used for its intended purpose and not contributing to increased private profit.