Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Investment in early learning and childcare is now at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025, clearly demonstrating Government commitment to this area.

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.

• From September 2025, year 4 of Core Funding begins and over €390 million will be available through Core Funding. The increased Core Funding available from September facilitates:
• Support for providers in meeting the costs of increases in minimum pay rates as a result of newly negotiated Employment Regulation Orders by the independent Joint Labour Committee;
• Increased funding for early learning and care capacity offered to ensure Partner Services can keep pace with rising costs without needing to increase fees charged to parents;
• An increase to the minimum amount of funding a centre-based service will receive, increasing to €14,400 per year from the current level of €14,000;
• A reduction in the maximum allocation for a services capacity to €450,000 to best spread a limited budget across the entire sector; and
• Funding to support capacity growth of 3.5% across the sector.

The Core Funding base rate factors in some key conditions, to ensure services viability, including, costs associated with staff pay, costs associated with administrative staff/time and non-pay costs such as utilities needed to run the service.

Services have flexibility in how they spend their grant, provided it aligns with the approved areas of expenditure outlined in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement (the Core Funding Contract).

In September 2024, the Department commenced the rollout of Equal Start, a major model of supports to ensure children experiencing disadvantage can access and meaningfully participate in early learning and childcare.

Equal Start is designed to be developed and rolled out in phases. Services with the highest level of need are targeted in the early phases. Since September 2024, Equal Start settings have been receiving funding for additional staffing hours that can be used to support engagement between the settings and families, as well as other child and family support services.

Since 2017, the Department has offered Sustainability Funding to community ELC/SAC services in crisis. In 2018, a Sustainability Funding policy was formalised, and a framework was created which coupled this Sustainability Funding with on-the-ground case management assistance. The purpose of the supports within this framework were to provide emergency funding to community services where a need for funding was identified while also ensuring that the case management performed at a service level identified and resolved underlying issues that may have caused the initial crisis.

As part of the Case Management process, City or County Childcare Committees (CCC) assist services with issues and difficulties that arise. The CCC may refer Core Funding-partner services facing difficulties to Pobal and the Department to be considered for Sustainability Funding. Sustainability Funding is intended to prevent significant issues that threaten the viability of a service. Any service seeking these supports should contact their City or County Childcare Committee.

Once a service engages with their local CCC they will be able to avail of supports through the case management process. Department officials have informed me there has been engagement with Moatview Early Education Centre around Core Funding and a Tusla change of circumstance. My Department will continue to liaise with Pobal and the CCCs to ensure that this Service is assisted in addressing their viability concerns.

I would encourage any service experiencing financial difficulty and who would like support to contact their CCC to access case management supports. Contact details for the CCCs can be found at City and County Childcare Committees.