Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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297. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the role of her Department in supporting the use of school buildings for childcare, after-school services and breakfast clubs, particularly in areas of high demand such as north County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54111/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government.

The early learning and childcare sector has expanded significantly in recent years; enrolments increased by 19% between 2022 and 2024 and registrations of new services have increased. This is particularly the case with school age childcare services with 261 new school age childcare services having opened in 2024. Estimated enrolments in school-age childcare, based on Sector Profile data, have grown by 56% over the last two years.

However, it appears that demand for early learning and childcare remains higher than available supply in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children.

The use of school buildings is a matter for the owners of those buildings. Last year, the Department of Education published Procedures on the use of school property and school sports facilities outside of school hours. This document provides encouragement and guidance to schools to make available facilities for early learning and childcare and other community purposes when not required by the school.

This Department supports the operations of ELC and SAC services, whether in school buildings or elsewhere, through a range of funding streams. The Department continues to support the ongoing development and resourcing of Core Funding which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced. Core Funding, which is in its fourth programme year, funds services based on the number of places available.

This provides stability to services, and reduces the risk associated with opening a new service or expanding an already existing service. For the previous programme year, the allocation for Core Funding allowed for a 6% increase in capacity. Additional funding was secured in Budget 2025 to facilitate a further 3.5% increase from September 2025. Core Funding supports services to defray both staff and non-staff costs.

The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial supports to parents to help reduce the cost of early learning and childcare. The Scheme has undergone a number of enhancements in recent years to further improve affordability for parents. These include the extension of the Universal subsidy to all children under 15 and two increases to the minimum hourly subsidy, which is now worth €2.14 per hour. Families in receipt of an income assessed subsidy receive a greater deduction per hour from their fees. These enhancements have helped to result in a positive growth in the number of families benefitting from NCS subsidies and the expansion of the sector.

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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298. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department provides funding or logistical support to community or private providers seeking to operate services from school buildings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54112/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help parents reduce the cost of early learning and childcare in the form of a subsidy paid directly to the childcare provider. Subsidies are available for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years of age. The minimum rate available to all families in Ireland is €2.14 per hour, which is available for up to 45 weekly hours. Depending on the child's age and the family's income, an additional income assessed subsidy may be available to provide additional support.

All Tusla registered providers are eligible to offer the National Childcare Scheme and avail of the supports the subsidy provides. Services are eligible for the same supports irrespective of if they are a community or private provider or if they operate in school buildings. Together for Better includes Core Funding, the National Childcare Scheme, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Access and Inclusion model (AIM) and Equal Start.

Core Funding is a grant for early learning and childcare providers towards their operating costs and is designed to improve affordability, quality, accessibility and sustainability. It is a supply-side funding stream, paid directly to providers that is distributed in a fair and reasonable manner and is related to services’ costs of delivery. The calculation of the grant is the same for all services nationwide.

The majority of Core Funding is distributed to services via:

* The Base Rate – Based on a service’s staffed capacity which considers their opening hours, operating weeks, age group of attendees, and number of places available.

Places do not need to be filled, but the correct number of staff as set out in the regulations must be in place.

* Graduate Premiums – Provide funding in support of graduate-led provision. The calculation is based on the number of graduate Lead Educators and graduate Managers in a service and the hours worked by these staff.

* Targeted Measures – These are in place to channel additional State support towards small and sessional services such as a play schools, Naíonraí or Montessori's. The targeted measures include a flat rate top up for sessional only services. There is also a minimum allocation for all centre-based early learning and care and/or school age childcare providers, regardless of how small they are.

Participation in Core Funding is optional, but it remains open to all registered providers subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the funding.