Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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100. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the amount of funding provided to childcare service providers under the Core Funding model each year since its introduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61580/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector. €259 million of funding was made available for services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding to the sector.

Payments due to services worth €249.9 million were accrued in the first year of Core Funding. This includes allocations created under the temporary Interim Funding scheme, which was in place for the first two weeks of September 2022 to ensure providers continued to receive financial support before Employment Regulation Orders were introduced on 15 September 2022.

Core funding increased by 11% to reach €287 million for the second year of the scheme, which began in September 2023. This increased investment facilitated capacity growth in the sector, extended support for graduate leadership and the introduction of targeted supports for small and sessional services.

Payments due to services worth €283 million were accrued in the second year of Core Funding.

The funding available for Core Funding increased by another 15% to reach €331 million for the third year of the scheme which began in September 2024. This supported further growth in the sector with additional funding aimed towards capacity for children under the age of three. It also allowed for the strengthening of the targeted supports for small and sessional services.

Payments due to services worth €323.1 million were accrued in the third year of Core Funding. The programme year formally closed at the end of October 2025, however there may be some small adjustments to allocations in the coming weeks.

This September, I again increased the funding available for Core Funding to exceed €390 million for the current and fourth year of the scheme. This is an increase of over 50% since the scheme began in September 2022. The additional funding is supporting further capacity growth, the maintenance of a fee management system to benefit families and significant improvements to pay and conditions in this valued sector.

I was delighted to announce further investment in Core Funding in Budget 2026. The additional funding being made available in 2026 will see the allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year which begins in September 2026 increase to at least €436.54 million. That is an additional €43.90 million on the current full year allocation, or an 11% increase.

This increased investment will allow for further increases in capacity across the sector, and will support Partner Services in adhering to the fee management conditions of the grant including reductions in the maximum fee caps from September 2026.

In addition, the Government is committed to supporting further enhancements in Year 5 of Core Funding that will bring further improvements in pay for staff.