Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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207. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures she will take to address the issue of staff turnover in childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29191/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The role of the early years educator and school-age childcare practitioner are valuable ones, and they play an important part in supporting children's development, learning and care.

In a very competitive labour market and with low levels of unemployment, recruitment and retention is a challenge for all employers.

The current Annual Early Years Sector Profile data shows that the number of educators/practitioners working with children in the sector has increased by over 8% between 2024 and 2025 and has increased by over 33% since 2022.

However, it is acknowledged that many early learning and childcare services report recruitment and retention issues. In general, these challenges are not caused by insufficient supply of staff, but by high levels of turnover mainly due to low pay and conditions.

Although the Government is the primary funder of the sector, it is not the employer and cannot directly set wages or 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, and is independent in its functions. 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 approximately €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.

I recently announced, as part of launch of Shaping the Future: Early Years Action Plan in December, another allocation of up to €15m of ring-fenced funding from September 2026, which amounts up to €45m for the full programme year, to support service providers with costs associated with possible increases in minimum rates of pay negotiated via the independent Joint Labour Committee process.

Consequently, over 2 years, the Department has made an allocation of €90 million available to support possible increased rates of pay.

A longer-term workforce strategy for the sector is in place: "Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028". Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in the sector. One of the five "pillars" of Nurturing Skills comprises commitments aimed at supporting recruitment, retention and diversity in the workforce, and it includes actions to raise the profile of careers in the sector.

In December 2023, a Sub-Group of the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum was established to address recruitment and retention challenges. The group has advanced initiatives including:

• A Student Fast-track Process for recognition of studies to work in service out of term,

• The assessment of unfinished qualifications, where people who may have started a relevant qualification but did not get to finish it, can have what they completed assessed for meeting qualification requirements

• An agreement to promote careers in the sector.

To further support staff retention, the Nurturing Skills Learner Fund enables educators who continue to work within the sector to pursue Level 7 and 8 qualifications by funding up to 90% of their tuition costs. Over 700 staff are now supported through the Nurturing Stills Learner Fund.

The Nurturing Skills Learner Fund demonstrates how we are already delivering on our Programme for Government commitment to ‘remove barriers in education and training for early years educators to broaden access to the profession.

Complementing wider Departmental policies to streamline administration and regulation, to reduce stress and to support wellbeing in the sector, the Department is committed to roll out an employee assistance programme nationally in the near future.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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208. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports she plans to introduce to support those who want to open new childcare services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29113/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Department supports the ongoing development of existing and new services in the sector through its range of funding schemes and support infrastructure including City and County Childcare Committees.In particular the Core Funding scheme, which has operated since 2022, offers supply side funding to 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 total allocation for Core Funding in 2026/2027 programme year will increase to €436.54 million, an additional €43.90 million on the current full year allocation.

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. Just this week I have announced a further phase of the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme.

Separately, in January I announced €135 million of capital investment over the coming five years for State-led services to provide high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare. The process will begin in 2026 with investment in buildings in what will be a ground-breaking initiative.

Up to eight buildings will be selected for investment this year. The State-led initiative will provide thousands of places up to 2030.

The Department also 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. The contact details for the City/County Childcare Committees may be found here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/city-and-county-childcare-committees/