Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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1532. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on childcare service capacity in Cork North Central; if additional funding will be provided to support community childcare providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59000/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Each year, Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile. The data for Cork are collated by local authority area: Cork County and Cork City. At the time of the most recent Profile survey for 2023/24, there were 358 service providers in Cork County and 168 service providers in Cork City that had a contract for at least one DCEDIY (now DCDE) funded programme/scheme.

The published capacity data for the 2023/24 programme year estimated that there were 17,663 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services in Cork County. This data also indicated that 44% of ELC and SAC services in Cork County had at least one vacant place and an estimated 31% had a waiting list. In Cork City there were an estimated 9,171 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services, 45% of service providers had at least one vacant place and 43% had a waiting list.

It is important to note that waiting list data should not be used as a measure of overall demand for ELC and SAC places. While waiting list data can be used to give an indication of demand for places for a given age group or service type not all services operate a waiting list. In addition, an individual child may be on multiple waiting lists in different services.

Further information can be found on the Early Learning and Childcare data website at www.pobal.ie/childcare/earlylearningandchildcaredata/. The Capacity Section of the website provides information on the number of children enrolled, services with vacant places, and services with a waiting list.

The Programme for Government commits for the first time to the provision of early learning and childcare through State-led facilities adding capacity in areas where unmet need exists.

State ownership of facilities is a very substantial and significant development and offers the potential to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignment with estimated demand.

Detailed and extensive policy development and design is ongoing in order to progress to implementation stage, having regard to the wider emerging policy context as set out in the Programme for Government.

The development of State-led early learning and childcare services will be enabled by capital allocation provided in the revised National Development Plan 2026-2030. As announced in the context of Budget 2026, €36 million will be available in 2026 for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include acquisitions of new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme, investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the Building Blocks scheme and a number of quality initiatives including supports to childminders.

This work is being led by a new Forward Planning and Delivery Unit which is focused on identifying areas of need, forecasting demand, and planning for the delivery of public supply within the early learning and childcare sector where required.

A key aspect of the preparatory work being undertaken by the unit is the development of a forward planning model. The forward planning model draws on administrative data to map the child population and location of funded services, and GIS mapping tools to model the link between children and available services. This will enable the identification and comparison of areas of need with a consistent methodology.

The approach to ensuring appropriate levels of early learning and childcare supply, including through State-led facilities, will be further articulated in the context of the Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system that the Government is committed to publishing.

Core Funding is a government grant in Ireland provided to early learning and childcare (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) providers, forming part of the "Together for Better" funding model. Its goal is to improve affordability for parents, enhance quality and sustainability for providers, support fair pay for the workforce, and promote inclusion for all children. In return for the grant, providers must agree to certain conditions, such as freezing parental fees and maintaining financial transparency.

When first introduced in 2022, Core Funding had an annual allocation of €259 million. That annual allocation has increased each year since and will exceed €390 million for year 4 of the Scheme, starting in September. This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years.

The Department has also made changes to improve the sustainability of providers through, for example, targeted measures for small and sessional services, a fee increase assessment and approval process for services with fees frozen at unsustainably low rates.

The sustainability fund for service providers is a support mechanism introduced to ensure the stability and viability of early learning and childcare services for those participating in the Core Funding model. The fund is accessed through a collaborative process involving the service, their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC), and Pobal, who assess financial eligibility and need.

Once a service engages with their local CCC they will be able to avail of sustainability supports through the case management process.

As part of the Case Management process, City or County Childcare Committees (CCC) assist services with issues and difficulties that arise. This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, financial support, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.

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: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/campaigns/city-and-county-childcare-committees/

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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1533. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timeline for full implementation of the universal childcare subsidy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59003/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) offers a Universal subsidy which helps reduce early learning and childcare costs for families.

Universal subsidies are available to all families with children between 24 weeks and 15 years of age. It is not means tested and provides €2.14 per hour for up to 45 hours per week off the cost of a Tusla-registered early learning and childcare place.

The NCS has undergone a number of enhancements in recent years to further improve affordability for parents. The universal subsidy has steadily risen from €0.50 in 2019 to its current rate of €2.14 per hour.

Typically, applications for a universal subsidy have quick turnaround times and are often approved on the same day as submitted. Families seeking to apply for the NCS can apply online for the subsidy using a verified MyGovID. Alternatively, they can contact the Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530 to request a postal application.

Officials in the Department are developing an Action Plan on Accessible, High Quality, Affordable Early Learning and Childcare. The Action Plan will be informed by a broad consultation process and will set out plans to achieve Programme for Government commitments, including the commitment to reduce maximum monthly fees to €200 over the lifetime of the Government.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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1534. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the way in which her Department will ensure equitable funding between community and private childcare providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59004/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In September 2024, the Department commenced the roll-out 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.

787 settings (serving 35,000 children - 4,700 from priority cohorts) identified as operating in a context of concentrated disadvantage have been given Equal Start designation. Of these, 54% are community services and 46% are private childcare providers.

Since September 2024, these 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.

An allocation of more than €11.7 million is provided for Staffing Supports payments in Budget 2025, increasing to €13.3 million in Budget 2026.

The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a programme of supports designed to ensure that children with additional needs can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Since its introduction in 2016, AIM has had a major impact on the lives of children with additional needs and the overall quality of early learning and care.

The goal of AIM is to empower early learning and care providers to deliver an inclusive preschool experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early learning and care in any mainstream service participating in ECCE. AIM resources are allocated based on a child’s individual needs through universal and targeted supports.

Within the AIM budget, €70 million has been allocated to Level 7 staffing supports for Budget 2025, increasing to €76 million in Budget 2026.

Government sees a role for both private and community in the early learning and childcare sector and accordingly it does not differentiate between for-profit and not-for-profit services in either the eligibility criteria for or the calculation and distribution of current funding. This Department does however make distinctions between for-profit and not-for-profit operators in respect of investment of capital funding. The current Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme has four strands, only one of which was available to for-profit operators. Of the 50 services approved for funding, 43 are not-for-profit and, by design, have on average substantially higher value grant allocations.

The Programme for Government also commits for the first time to provide capital investment to build or purchase State-owned early learning and childcare facilities, to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. State ownership of facilities is a very substantial and significant development and offers the potential for much greater scope to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignment with estimated demand. This work will be supported through capital investment under the revised National Development Plan.