Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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346. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to address the shortage of early childcare places, particularly for children between the age of nought to two years, which is preventing many parents, especially women, from returning to work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60506/25]

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.

Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. 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.

Demand for early learning and childcare beyond sessional pre-school provision is highly elastic and shaped very substantially by families' individual composition, circumstances, and preferences; employment patterns and income; and the price and availability of services.

A Forward Planning and Delivery Unit in this Department is progressing an important programme of work 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 forward planning model is in development which will be central to the Department's plans to achieve the policy goals set out in the Programme for Government to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system, with State-led facilities adding capacity.

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. Core Funding application data shows that between Year 1 and Year 3 of the scheme, annual place hours increased by over 15%. Budget 2025 secured funding for the fourth programme year (2025/6) to facilitate a further 3.5% increase from September 2025. Budget 2026 has made provision for the fifth programme year (2026/7) for a further expansion in supply of 4.2%.

This increased investment will allow increases in growth of the sector driven both by new services joining the sector and existing services offering more places and/or longer hours to families.

The Government is also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is designed to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care. Core Funding Partner Services could apply for capital funding to physically extend their premises or to construct or purchase new premises.

Capital funding allocated to the early learning and childcare sector under the National Development Plan has enabled significant investment in early learning and childcare. This allows existing Core Funding Partner Services to extend their existing premises or, in the case of community services, to construct or purchase new premises. The Scheme will deliver up to 1,500 full-day care places for 1- to 3-year-olds. The shortlisted services are now working with the Chief State Solicitor’s Office in completing the legal formalities of the scheme. I look forward to seeing these projects progress over the coming months.

The Programme for Government 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.

The Department funds 30 City/County Childcare Committees, which provide support and assist families and early learning and childcare providers. The network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees across the country can assist in identifying vacant places in services for children and families who need them and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.

Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance. Contact details for the City/County Childcare Committee may be found at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/city-and-county-childcare-committees