Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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936. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress that has been made over the past 12 months on each Programme for Government commitment relating to childcare, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63656/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Please see below in tabular form the progress that has been made over the past 12 months on each Programme for Government commitment relating to early learning and childcare:

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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937. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the Action Plan on Childcare, which is a key priority in the Programme for Government, will be published; if she will outline in detail the work that has been undertaken by her Department since the Government was formed in developing this plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63657/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government outlines the commitment to "undertake a broad consultation and publish a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system".

Officials in the Department are continuing to develop this Action Plan which will look at affordability, access and quality of the early learning and care and school-age childcare system. These three attributes – affordability, accessibility and quality – are closely connected and the ways in which they interact are complex. It will be essential that we make progress in all three areas in parallel in order to deliver on our vision. Officials are working on an integrated approach to minimise the risk of unintended consequences and to identify opportunities to address multiple policy challenges at the same time.

In setting out plans to deliver on key Programme for Government commitments, the Action Plan will take into account existing plans, including the expert group report Partnership for the Public Good, Nurturing Skills (the Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare), the National Action Plan for Childminding, and First 5 (the Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families). The Action Plan will also be aligned with new plans in development, such as the Action Plan for Administrative and Regulatory Simplification.

Officials have also been analysing available research and data that will inform this Action Plan including findings from reviews of the ECCE programme and the Access and Inclusion Model.

Officials in the Department are also examining how recent consultations with stakeholders in the sector can inform the design of the broad consultation process that is committed to in the Programme for Government.

While work on developing the Action Plan is ongoing, we are already taking initial steps to deliver on key commitments in the Programme for Government. Budget 2026 enables Core Funding to continue to support fee-control measures and will also allow for growth in the sector. The allocation for Core Funding in 2026 will ensure fees remain at 2021 levels for a majority of providers. As well as this, there will be a new maximum fee cap set to reduce costs for families paying the highest fees across the country. Further details of the new, lower maximum fee caps will be announced in the coming months.

The 2026 allocation for Core Funding will also support implementation of the recently announced Employment Regulation Orders, which led to a 10% increase - on average - in the minimum rate of pay for early years educators, school-age childcare practitioners and for other roles in the sector from 13 October.

There will also be enhancements in Year 5 of Core Funding - from September 2026 - to further improve pay for educators and school age childcare practitioners with implementation of new Employment Regulation Orders.

Further steps will be detailed in the Action Plan on Accessible, High Quality, Affordable Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, which the Department is continuing to develop. 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.

I will provide further detail on the Action Plan and the consultation process at the earliest opportunity.