Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

548. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the contingency measures which are in place to support families who lose childcare places as a result of providers withdrawing from core funding or ceasing operations; the extent to which her Department is tracking the emerging capacity gap at local and regional level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65052/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

549. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has met with representative bodies for private childcare providers in recent months to discuss concerns regarding staffing costs, administrative burden, and funding adequacy under the core funding scheme; the outcomes of those engagements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65053/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I recently established an Early Learning and Childcare Provider Consultative Forum, to build on the Department’s strong commitment to, and track record in, engaging with stakeholders in the sector through the Department’s advisory, oversight, consultation and research processes.

The Forum will discuss policy and operational issues relating to the provision of early learning and childcare services and has the following objectives:

• To share information from the Early Learning and Childcare Division of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and other relevant Departments and Agencies, including specific initiatives under consideration/development on supporting quality, accessible and affordable early learning and childcare as they relate to providers.
• To provide members with an opportunity to feedback this information to their own members, where relevant.
• To provide members with an opportunity to share information updates to the Forum.
• To provide an opportunity to seek the views of members on relevant policies and programme issues.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

550. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review the administrative and compliance obligations associated with the core funding model, which providers have described as onerous and disproportionate; the planned reforms to reduce the reporting burden; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65054/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

551. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will address concerns that the current funding model does not adequately reflect the higher staffing ratios and operating costs associated with infant and wobbler care; and if she will consider adjusting the funding to prevent further contraction of places in this age cohort; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65055/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

552. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures being taken to address recruitment and retention challenges in the early learning and care sector; if her Department plans to introduce additional supports to improve pay, conditions and career pathways for educators; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65056/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I acknowledge many early learning and childcare services report recruitment and retention challenges. In general, these challenges are not caused by insufficient supply of qualified staff, but by high levels of turnover.

Data from the 2024 Annual Early Years Sector Profile survey shows the national turnover rate for the sector was approximately 25.8% with 28% of the turnover rate due to staff moving from one provider to another.

Improvement in pay is certainly key to improving recruitment and retention rates, as is the full implementation of Nurturing Skills.

Pay is one of a number of issues impacting the early learning and care and school-age childcare workforce. The level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners does not reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy.

Staff turnover is linked to pay and working conditions. However, the State is not an employer of staff and neither I, nor the Department, set pay or working conditions.

The Joint Labour Committee is the formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates, which are set down in Employment Regulation Orders.

Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by Government through Core Funding. In this programme year 2025/26 Core Funding has increased by 6% to €350 million with an additional €45 million in ring-fenced Core Funding provided to support early learning and care services in meeting the increased cost of minimum pay rates in the sector.

As recently announced, the Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail Alan Dillon has signed new Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Educators and School-Age Practitioners.

The Orders commenced on 13th October 2025. They provide for an average of 10% increase to minimum hourly rates of pay. It is estimated that 67% of those working in the sector will see their wages increase as a result of the new minimum pay rates.

The Government remains committed to ‘continue to implement Employment Regulation Orders to attract and retain early years educators’ and to making available a similar sum in 2026 to support a further future round of pay improvements negotiations through the JLC process.

Staff in this sector play a key role in supporting children’s development and well-being. Recognising their central importance for the quality of provision, the Department continues to deliver on the workforce plan for the sector, Nurturing Skills.

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 the development of career pathways, the role profiles of educator, lead educator and manager, which were set out in Nurturing Skills, were given legal meaning when used as the basis for the Employment Regulations Orders for the sector. These Orders now embed a career structure by setting different rates of pay for the different roles.

Since its inception in 2024 the pilot NSLF scheme has been in a position to offer financial support to over 700 applicants.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

553. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide data on regional disparities in childcare availability, including areas where supply is failing to meet demand; the targeted interventions which are being developed to alleviate childcare shortages in those areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65057/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

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 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.

Current data on childcare capacity at county level is available at www.pobal.ie/childcare/capacity/.

The development of a 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, subject to data protection considerations.

As announced in the context of Budget 2026, €36 million will be available in 2026 for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include acquisitions of new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme, investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the Building Blocks scheme and a number of quality initiatives including supports to childminders.

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.

The approach to ensuring appropriate levels of early learning and childcare supply, including through State-led facilities, will be further articulated in the context of the Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system that the Government is committed to publishing.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

554. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has carried out any impact assessment of the core funding model since its introduction; if her Department plans to review or revise the model in view of recent provider withdrawals and operational challenges; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65058/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

555. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her Department's long-term vision for childcare sector reform, including the way in which she plans to balance affordability for parents with sustainability for providers; if further structural changes to the funding model are under consideration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65059/25]