Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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1584. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the approximate national cost of fees charged to parents after all funding schemes are taken into account, based on the most recent data. [59512/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Each year Pobal, on behalf of the Department, compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Annual Early Years Sector Profile (AEYSP). As part of the AEYSP survey, service providers are asked to indicate the fee charged for each care type before deductions for subsidies are applied.

The most recently published fee data for the 2023/24 programme year indicates that the average (median) weekly fee, per child before subsidies, was €190.00 per week for full day ELC, €110.00 per week for part time ELC, €75.00 per week for sessional ELC, €5.00 per hour for in-term SAC, and €165.00 per week for out of term SAC. There is a large degree of variation in fees and service offerings across providers which is why the median fee is used below.

The subsidies deducted from the fee also vary significantly based on scheme eligibility and levels of childcare usage. Firstly, the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides a minimum of €2.14, per child per hour, towards ELC and SAC costs for children between 6 months and 15 years. A maximum of €5.10, per child per hour, is available through the NCS income-assessed subsidy process which accounts for family income, the age of the child, and other family circumstances.

Additionally, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme provides 3 hours per week for 5 days per week and results in a flat reduction of €64.50 per week for children availing of the Programme. Children between 2 years 8 months and 5 years 6 months can avail of up to two years of the ECCE Programme.

The below tables outline the out of pocket costs for families availing of ELC only, ELC and the ECCE Programme and SAC for families availing of the NCS universal subsidy.

As previously referenced, the NCS income assessed subsidy depends on levels of family income and age of the child. The below table presents the maximum weekly subsidies available through the NCS income assessed subsidy.

For simplicity, this response focuses on the maximum subsidies available through the NCS income assessed subsidy. Families availing of the income-assessed subsidy with a reckonable income levels above €26k and below €60k, will be eligible for a subsidy between the maximum income assessed rate and the NCS universal subsidy.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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1585. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of graduates working in the early years and the SAC sector. [59513/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Annual Early Years Sector Profile survey provides data on the staff with a NFQ Level 7 award or higher in a relevant Early Learning and Childcare qualification and the latest data available shows that 39% in the programme years of 2022/23 and 2023/24 of those working with children held this level of qualification. Actual figures for 2022/23 for Level 7 or greater qualification was 10,765 and for 2023/24 was 11,383 which is a 5.7% increase on the previous year.

I am committed to growing the number of graduates in the sector and achieving our aim of a graduate-led workforce. First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families, recognises that the workforce is at the heart of high-quality early learning and care. The evidence suggests that children achieve better outcomes when staff are well qualified. This is undisputed internationally.

Nurturing Skills, The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028, seeks to continue to build on commitments in First 5 to develop an appropriately skilled and sustainable professional workforce, and includes a commitment and actions to achieve a graduate-led workforce by 2028.

Nurturing Skills aims to support the professional development of the workforce and sets out plans to raise the profile of careers in the sector, establish role profiles, career pathways, qualification requirements, along with leadership development opportunities.

To support this objective, the new Nurturing Skills Learner Fund was launched in December 2023 in order to help early years educators to undertake approved degree-level qualifications while continuing to work in the early learning and care sector. For the academic year 2024/2025, the first year of the scheme, 350 applicants were successful and received Nurturing Skills Learning Fund support. Recently, in continuation of the scheme a further 365 applicants were successful and will receive Nurturing Skills Learning Fund support for the academic year 2025/2026.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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1586. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of graduates working in the early years and SAC sector who are currently benefiting from the graduate uplift.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59514/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Among other objectives, Core Funding supports the ability of service providers to meet the additional costs resulting from the Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Services, as it provides increases in funding to early learning and childcare service providers to support improvements in staff wages, alongside a commitment to freeze or reduce parental fees. It also provides additional funding to support the employment of graduate leaders in Early Years settings.

The calculation of a services Core Funding grant contains multiple elements – the Base Rate, Graduate Premiums, Targeted Measures and the new Staff Funding Additional Contribution.

It is important to note that although there are various elements used to derive the grants for individual services, the eligible areas of expenditure of the Core Funding grant are much broader. Services can choose how to spend their Core Funding grant in accordance with the approved areas of expenditure outlined in the Funding Agreement. The Staff Funding Additional Contribution is the only element of the grant which has a prescribed use.

The additional funding for graduate leadership is distributed through the Graduate Premiums within Core Funding. This premium is paid to Partner Services where a suitably qualified Lead Educator or Manager is present.

The State is not the employer and therefore does not set the pay or conditions for employees in either early learning and care (ELC) or school-age childcare (SAC) services. It is a matter for the Partner Service to determine how much of their Core Funding grant will be utilised for improving staff pay and conditions, with the exception of the Staff Funding Additional Contribution. Indeed, they may choose to use funding above that allocated through Graduate Premiums to increase pay for graduate leadership in their service.

I therefore am not in a position to comment on how many graduates working in the sector are currently benefitting directly from the additional funding for graduate leadership. I can confirm that of the 4,546 services signed up to Core Funding on 29 October 2025 (92% of all eligible services), there were 2,984 services in receipt of at least one Graduate Premium. Within those services, there were 8,196 Graduate Lead Educators and Graduate Managers. These graduates represent 30% of all childcare staff reported on the Core Funding application of the 2,984 services in receipt of a Graduate Premium, including out-of-ratio managers.

These figures are not reflective of all graduates in the workforce. As well as graduates in services not attracting a Graduate Premium under Core Funding, there are Graduate Educators and Deputy Managers who are not reflected in this count. In addition, the figures only reflect services signed up to Core Funding, and therefore the figures do not reflect the 6% of State funded services not signed up to the scheme nor any services not signed up for any funding from the Department.

Not all of these graduates will be underpinning premiums for the service where they are employed. Premiums are not attracted in school-age sessions, and in some instances there may be multiple Graduate Lead Educators working in a room at the same time. Graduate Premiums are payable once per room.

The Programme for Government commitment is to continue to implement Employment Regulation Orders to attract and retain early years educators.