Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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895. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the Forward Planning and Delivery Unit has identified specific capacity gaps in childcare provision in County Louth; to detail the areas of greatest pressure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62868/25]

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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896. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if County Louth will be included in the initial phase of State-led or State-owned childcare facility development; if the county has been prioritised given its population growth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62869/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 895 and 896 together.

Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government.

Overall, early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile in 2024 shows that the estimated number of enrolments has increased by 19% in the previous two years. 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.

The development of the forward planning model is currently underway led by the Forward Planning and Delivery Unit. The model seeks to identify the nature and volume of different types of early learning and childcare places across the country and how that aligns with the numbers of children in the corresponding age cohorts at local area level. An extensive data analysis and cleaning exercise is currently being undertaken to map available publicly subsidised supply.

The analysis of the Forward Planning model will provide a key input into the approach to the capital programme to be resourced through the allocation in the revised National Development Plan 2026-2030. It will be one of a number of factors considered when selecting and prioritising projects. Other factors will reflect the policy goals of the Department to support a high-quality, inclusive and accessible early learning and childcare system and to ensure value for money.

The forward planning model is being designed primarily as a tool for internal analysis. The maps and data that the model will produce will contain protected categories of data and will therefore not be made generally available in full. As the model is further developed along with accompanying policy work related to supply, aggregated statistics, including statistics broken down by local geographical area, may be made available if this is deemed compliant with data protection obligations.

Preparatory work for this programme of capital investment is underway, with the programme planned to commence in line with the revised NDP allocation from 2026 onwards. As such, no decisions on prioritisation or targeting of certain local geographic areas within counties have yet been made.

Current data on early learning and childcare capacity at county level is available on Pobal's website under the Early Learning and Childcare Data section. This data shows that there was a 13.8% increase in enrolments in County Louth between the programme years 2021/22 and 2023/24. This data also indicated that 23% of service providers in Louth had at least one vacant place and an estimated 55% had a waiting list. It is important to note that waiting list data should not be used as a measure of overall demand for childcare 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.

Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance.

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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897. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of services in County Louth shortlisted under the building blocks extension grant scheme; the estimated number of new childcare places expected to be delivered locally under the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62870/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme was launched in late 2024. The closing date for applications was 30th January 2025. There were four strands to the scheme: Community Construction, Community Extension, Community Purchasing and Private Extension. A total of 78 applications were received with 50 applicants approved to progress to the next stage of the grant process. Following approval, applicants were required to finalise the legal formalities of the scheme and projects are now commencing.

Of the 78 applications received, two were from Co. Louth, of which one was successful in progression to the next stage of the grant process. One was not shortlisted for progression as the number of full-time places for 1–3-year-olds proposed to be delivered through this project is significantly lower than that required for the grant value sought.

The application which was successful in being approved to progress was a private extension project which will deliver 54 new full day places for children aged under 3 in Ballapousta, Co. Louth.

As part of the NDP review, the allocation for this Department has increased to €795 million over the next five years. This increased funding will be used in part to provide additional early learning and childcare places through future capital programmes, including operating a further scheme similar to Building Blocks to support the expansion of provision by existing operators, as well as implementing this Department's commitment to capital investment in State-led early learning and childcare facilities.

Officials in the Department are currently examining options and detailed specifications for future Building Blocks schemes, and I expect to announce details in early 2026.