Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

125. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will examine the dependence on for-profit provision of childcare in delivering childcare; if she will take steps to increase publicly provided childcare on a non-profit basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29193/26]

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

The Early Learning and Childcare is a privately delivered sector with three quarters of operators established on a for-profit basis and one quarter of a not-for-profit basis.

Following on from the publication of Partnership for the Public Good in 2021, the sector has seen substantially increased public funding accompanied by significantly greater levels of public management. This has been enabled in particular by the introduction of the Core Funding scheme.

Core Funding is an supply-side funding scheme that allocates investment to operators in order to manage fees, enable improved terms and conditions for staff and allow for greater levels of financial transparency. Among the objectives of Core Funding is to ensure that taxpayers money is being used in a way that sustains services while not excessively increasing private profit.

The annual allocation for the scheme has risen from €259 million in the first year of the scheme to over €482 million in the fifth year which will begin in September 2026.

Government sees a role for both private and community in the early learning and childcare sector and accordingly it does not differentiate between for-profit and not-for-profit services in either the eligibility criteria for or the calculation and distribution of Core Funding or other current funding schemes.

This Department does however make distinctions between for-profit and not-for-profit operators in respect of investment of capital funding. The first Building Blocks Extension Scheme has four strands, only one of which was available to for-profit operators. Of the 50 services approved for funding, 43 are not-for-profit and, by design, have on average substantially higher value grant allocations. The phase 2 Building Blocks Extension Scheme which I launched this week also favours community operators by allowing for higher grant values and not requiring match funding.

The Programme for Government also commits for the first time to provide capital investment to build or purchase State-owned early learning and childcare facilities, to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. State ownership of facilities is a very substantial and significant development and offers the potential for much greater scope to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignment with estimated demand.

I recently announced €135 million for this programme of capital investment in buildings for high-quality, accessible State-led early learning and childcare. The process will begin in 2026 with investment in buildings in what will be a ground-breaking initiative for this government. Capital funding will be used to acquire and/or fit out the building, depending on requirements.

State-led early learning and childcare builds on existing trajectory in Government policy for the sector as set out in Partnership for the Public Good in 2021, the key theme of which was the need to strengthen State involvement in the sector through greater levels of public management accompanied by increased State funding.

Significant advances have been made in public management and increased public funding over the last number of years and State-led early learning and childcare capital investment is part of the next phase of developments building on this foundation. This programme, along with the Building Blocks schemes, will contribute substantially to expansion of the not-for-profit community part of the sector over the coming years.