Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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228. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to increase the availability of childcare places in Kilcock, County Kildare, where families are facing waiting lists extending into late 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68509/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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229. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware that the shortage of childcare places in Kilcock is forcing some parents out of the workforce; the supports or interventions which are planned to address this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68510/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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230. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if population growth projections for Kilcock have been factored into childcare service planning; whether additional funding or capacity-building measures will be introduced to reduce waiting lists and support families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68511/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 228, 229 and 230 together.

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

Capacity in this sector is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile for 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% over the previous two years.

However, it appears that demand for Early Learning and Care remains higher than available supply in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children. Demand for places 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.

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. For the third programme year (2024/25), the allocation for Core Funding allowed for a 6% increase in capacity. 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 the natural 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. The Scheme will deliver up to 1,500 full-day care places for 1- to 3-year-olds coming on stream from 2026.

As announced in the context of Budget 2026, €36 million of this will be available in 2026 for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include investment in new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme and investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the Building Blocks scheme as well as other quality initiatives.

The focus in the State-led services will be on services to meet demand for affordable, accessible, high quality early learning and childcare that is not otherwise being delivered, including on full day provision particularly for younger children.

The development of a forward planning model to analyse childcare supply and demand nationally is currently underway. 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. This involves combining data from multiple administrative sources, including child population data, using GIS (Geographical Information System) mapping tools.

The analysis of the forward planning model will be one of a number of factors that will be considered when selecting and prioritising projects. Other factors will reflect the policy goals of the Department to support a quality, inclusive and accessible early learning and childcare system and to ensure value for money.

Preparatory work for this programme of capital investment is underway, with the multi-year programme planned to commence from 2026 onwards. As such, no decisions on prioritisation or selection of certain locations have yet been made.

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.

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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231. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review the decision not to provide a Christmas bonus to foster carers in 2025; if consideration will be given to reinstating the payment in future years given the extra costs at Christmas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68512/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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232. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has assessed the financial impact on foster carers of the decision not to provide a Christmas bonus in 2025; the supports being considered to assist foster carers during periods of increased costs such as Christmas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68513/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 232 together.

Foster carers play a vital and valued role in the care of the most vulnerable children in our society. Foster care is the preferred option for children who cannot live with their family of origin, and foster carers provide a safe, secure and stable home environment for these vulnerable children and young people.

This Department has overseen record investment in foster carers, including a 21% increase to the foster care allowance over the past two years, resulting in the current weekly allowance for children in foster care of €400 per week for children aged under 12, and €425 per week for those over 12.

A double payment of the foster care allowance was paid to foster carers at the end of 2023 and this payment was repeated at the end of 2024. This was in recognition of the significant pressures placed on families in the context of high rates of inflation, and was in line with other similar payments, including a double payment of child benefit, which foster carers also received.

Additionally, in 2025 foster carers now receive a bonus payment at the start of each initial foster care placement. This payment aims to alleviate the substantial out-of-pocket expenses that can be incurred by foster carers during the initial period after a child is placed in their care.

A revised Mileage Payment Scheme for foster carers also came into effect in April 2025. This broadens the categories of journeys which may be considered eligible for payment under the Foster Care Travel Payments Scheme. Additionally, the cumulative weekly travel distance to qualify for these payments has been reduced from 300km to 250km.

The Programme for Government 2025 (PfG) sets out the Government’s intention to provide further support for foster carers, including further increases to the foster care allowance and the new Initial Placement Payment, a commitment to examine pension provision for foster carers, and examine eligibility for the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.

I have met with a number of foster care stakeholder bodies since becoming Minister for Children, including the Irish Foster Care Association, and I am keenly aware of the current challenges facing the sector. As Minister I fully intend to prioritise foster care and ensure that we build upon the suite of supports of which foster carers can avail.