Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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1497. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures her Department can take to promote the establishment of parent and toddler groups in each county, in view of the large number of such facilities in some areas, and scarcity in others; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58309/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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This Department funds a network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs) throughout Ireland. The CCCs are responsible for the implementation of the Parent and Toddler (P&T) grants at county level and in this context each CCC promotes the P&T grants locally.

The criteria/conditions for P&T grants are defined each year by the Department and it is on this basis that applications are appraised. The CCCs are responsible for appraising all applications for P&T grants that emanate from its local area and make decisions including prioritising where necessary, on the outcome of the applications.

The P&T grants' fund for 2025 was increased by €100,00 to €350,000 to reflect the growing number of P&T groups in the country. This funding amount was allocated proportionally to the CCCs on the basis of the number of P&T groups reported.

The following table shows an example of a steady increase in the number of P&T groups over the last three years.