Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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52. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress to-date on development of the national plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the Early Learning and Care and school-age childcare; the timeline for the publication of the plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49956/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Department is working in collaboration with other relevant Departments and Agencies to develop a national plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) sector. The development of such a plan is a commitment in the 5-Year Action Plan for the Irish Language.

The national plan is expected to support the delivery of two commitments in First 5 (the Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families): “Introduce measures to ensure that children in Gaeltacht areas have access to Irish-medium ELC provision” and “Develop mechanisms to provide Irish-language supports to ELC provision where there are high proportions of children who are learning through the medium of Irish”.

The plan is also expected to support the delivery of commitments in the Programme for Government to: “Support naíonraí and creches to ensure early education access in Gaeltacht communities and beyond” and “Plan the development of State-led facilities in tandem with the school building programme, including Irish-medium naíonraí”.

A survey of Irish-medium ELC and SAC settings including childminders was undertaken in 2022-2023 to obtain a baseline of the current level of Irish-medium provision in the sector.

A public consultation and a programme of research, including a literature review, took place in 2024. A consultation with children has also recently been completed.

In addition to the focus on the provision of Irish-medium ELC and SAC services, it is anticipated that the new national plan will also include measures to support English-medium ELC services to work within the updated Aistear early childhood curriculum framework, which was published in December 2024. The updated Aistear includes an aim of supporting young children to have an awareness and appreciation of Gaeilge and our cultural and linguistic heritage.

It is intended that the Plan and associated consultation reports will be published in the coming months.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has plans to increase the capital threshold under the building blocks programme. [49911/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In 2025, €25m in voted expenditure was made available for the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme. The Building Blocks Extension Grant scheme allows for Core Funding Partner Services to extend their existing premises or, in the case of community services, to construct or purchase new premises. 50 projects were shortlisted to be funded and will deliver up to 1,500 additional new full time places for 1-3 year olds.

The Building Blocks Extension Scheme had four strands.

Private providers could apply for funding between €50,000 and €250,000 from my Department to extend their existing premises. Match funding was required with a maximum contribution by my Department of €250,000 or 50% of total project costs, whichever is lower. Project values between €100,000 and €650,000 were eligible and any additional project costs exceeding €500,000 were required to be funded by the service.

Community Providers could apply for funding between €100,000 and €500,000 to extend their existing premises. Match funding was not a requirement, however any additional project costs between €500,000 and the maximum project value of €650,000 were required to be funded by the service.

Community Providers could apply for funding between €300,000 and €750,000 to construct a new premises. Match funding was not a requirement, however any additional project costs between €750,000 and the maximum project value of €1,500,000 were required to be funded by the service.

Community Providers could apply for funding between €300,000 and €750,000 to purchase a new premises. Match funding was not a requirement, however any additional project costs between €750,000 and the maximum project value of €1,500,000 were required to be funded by the service.

Whilst there is no further capital funding available this year, the allocation for my Department has increased to €795 million over the next five years as part of the recent NDP review. This increased funding will be used in part to provide additional early learning and childcare places through future capital programmes, including potentially operating a further scheme similar to Building Blocks to support the expansion of provision by existing operators, as well as implementing my Department's commitment to capital investment in State-owned facilities. Details of the approach to the capital programme 2026-2030 are currently under consideration.