Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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387. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the short-term or interim funding options available for an early education centre (details supplied) while it is awaiting the outcome of a sustainability fund application from the Dublin City Childcare Committee; to maintain this centre’s viability in the short term considering it is located in an area where there is already a significant shortage of childcare places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50327/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I understand Dublin City Childcare Committee (DCCC) has met with the Moatview Early Education Centre Manager with regards to their present situation. It is expected that a follow up meeting will take place in July where the appropriate supports, both financial and non-financial, will be identified and progressed.

Dublin City Childcare Committee (DCCC) and Pobal need to assess the level of support required before progressing a sustainability funding request.

To support this, Moatview Early Education Centre should complete the Financial Planning Tool that was shared with them in June and return the document to DCCC as soon as possible.

While waiting for the outcome of the assessment, the service will continue to receive all current funding supports available to them. Since September 2025, the service has availed of funding from Core Funding, The National Childcare Scheme, Equal Start, the Access and Inclusion Model and the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme totalling €268,886.99

Once a service engages with their local City/County Childcare Committee, they will be able to avail of supports through the case management process. Through this process, local City/County Childcare Committees and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare services experiencing difficulties.

I would encourage any service experiencing difficulty and who would like support should contact their CCC to access case management supports. Contact details for all City and County Childcare Committees are available on the gov.ie website.

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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388. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the mechanisms in place to ensure that early learning and childcare providers participating in the core funding scheme comply with the fee management conditions, and do not increase fees charged to parents contrary to the terms of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50364/26]

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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390. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of fee management reviews, investigations, audits or compliance checks undertaken in each year since the introduction of core funding; the number of breaches identified and sanctions applied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50366/26]

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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393. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of fee reviews initiated; the number of fee reviews initiated since the establishment of the core funding scheme resulted in a finding that parents were being overcharged by a partner service and therefore in breach of core funding rules; to confirm if payments to that service provider have been placed on hold; her plans to recoup the overcharged fees for parents, including by legal action if required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50369/26]

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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394. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality where a finding of overcharging/breach of core funding rules was made against a partner service, to indicate in each instance the length of time the case took from first complaint to a finding that the partner service was breaching core funding rules; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50370/26]

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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395. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of cases where a partner service was found to have raised fees in breach of the core funding rules, if the relevant partner service has confirmed to her Department that it has completed all remedial actions within the specified time period, including refunds of parents if required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50371/26]

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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396. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in situations where the partner service has confirmed that they have completed all remedial actions including refunds, to outline the way in which the evidence of remedy provided by the service provider has been verified by her Department; if parents and service users who were deemed to have been overcharged have been included in this process in order to confirm that they have in fact been appropriately refunded, if applicable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50372/26]

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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397. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to identify the instances where a finding has been made that a partner service has overcharged parents in breach of core funding rules; where the deadline for complying with the remedial actions including refunds has passed and her Department has been made aware (by any means) that the partner service has not in fact complied with the remedial actions required of them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50373/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 388, 390, 393, 394, 395, 396 and 397 together.

The Department is conscious of the importance of promoting affordability for parents without compromising the viability of businesses in the sector.

The Core Funding Programme, which is administered by Pobal, has a number of system validations in place as part of the application process to validate the information input by services. These system validations cross reference data on, or submitted by, services with a range of sources, including the Tusla Register of Early Years Services. This structured, system based approach has proven effective in ensuring the information provided by services is accurate and meets Core Funding requirements prior to contracting.

In July 2025, the Department and Pobal launched a pilot compliance check involving 30 services to assess adherence to the Graduate Lead Educator premium requirements under the grant scheme. The findings from these checks are informing the development of a strengthened and standardised compliance checklist for the programme.

To provide a level of accountability for exchequer funding the Fee Review process was initially piloted in 2023 with Pobal carrying out the reviews. In July 2024 the National Fee Review Team (NFRT) was established and the pilot Fee review process was moved to an interim Fee Review process. The NFRT consists of members from 2 City/County Childcare Committees and members of staff within the Department.

The Department is only made aware of a potential breach of the Fee Management contractual obligations when a Fee Review request is escalated to the NFRT. Once it is raised, a Fee Review is commenced. Since the establishment of the Fee Review process there have been 19 Fee Reviews carried out under the pilot Fee Review process, 21 under NFRT for programme year 2024/2025 and there is currently 18 Fee Reviews for programme year 2025/2026.

As of 30 June 2026, 27 services who entered the Fee Review process have been found in breach of the Core Funding Fee Management rules. Once a Fee Review has reached a final decision, if the Partner Service is found in breach of the Core Funding Fee Management rules, they must return a Declaration and complete remedial actions, one of which is to refund affected parents which have been identified by the Partner Service.

The Fee Review process has sanctions that can be deployed only where necessary. Should a Partner Service fail to engage in the process; refuse to sign a declaration, and/or fail to complete their remedial actions, their funding may be placed on hold. If the Partner Service does not engage in the process or fail to carry out the remedial actions by the end of the Core Funding programme year, the Partner Service will forfeit any funding that is on hold and will be placed on hold if they re-enter Core Funding the following programme year.

As the circumstances in each case are different and communication is across multiple stakeholders, a finite timeline for a Fee Review is not possible. The timeline for each case is dependent on the amount of information and clarification at each stage, the multiple analysis that ensures due diligence of cross checking, and the nature of communication across multiple organisations. The National Fee Review Team endeavours to complete any case within the shortest possible timeframe.

As Core Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare and school aged childcare providers, a Partner Service signs a Core Funding Partner Service Agreement, each programme year. The Agreement is between the Partner Service and the Department.

To purchase childcare, a parent enters a contract with a Partner Service, the majority of which are private businesses. This contract is between the Partner Service and the parent. The Department is not party to the contract and has no remit over this private contract and is only able to take actions within the rules of Core Funding. The Core Funding contract does not allow for recoupment for parents by the Department or through the Core Funding payments.

In the event that an individual wishes to raise a concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/city-and-county-childcare-committees/).

Further detail on this process is available in the Guidelines on Fee Management section on the Early Years Hive: Guidelines on Fee Management - Service Provider Portal (www.earlyyearshive.ncs.gov.ie/Fee-Review-Process-Guidelines-for-2026-2027-Programme-Year.pdf)

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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389. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether compliance is monitored directly by her Department, by Pobal, by the network of City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs), or by another body; to outline the respective responsibilities of each organisation in relation to monitoring and enforcement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50365/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Core Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare providers towards their operating costs, designed to promote affordability for parents and sustainability for providers through increased funding to the sector.

The allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year, from September 2026, will increase to over €480 million, including €21.4 million in new funding to support Partner Services in meeting the fee management requirements.

A key condition of receiving the significant State funding that is available through the Scheme requires that a Partner Service adhere to the Core Funding fee management system, which includes a freeze on fees at 2021 levels and fee caps. This is to ensure that the State’s significant investment through the Scheme is not absorbed by unnecessary fee increases.

The Core Funding Programme, which is administered by Pobal, has a number of system validations in place as part of the application process to validate the information input by services. These system validations cross reference data on, or submitted by, services with a range of sources, including the Tusla Register of Early Years Services. This structured, system based approach has proven effective in ensuring the information provided by services is accurate and meets Core Funding requirements prior to contracting.

In July 2025 the Department commenced a Core Funding Fee Table Approval process. As part of this exercise, CCCs reviewed the 2025/2026 fee tables of each service that applied to the Fee Increase Assessment process in programme year 2024/2025.

Accompanied by new fee table rules in programme year 2025/2026 and a fee table guideline document, this exercise promoted compliance with and understanding of scheme rules among Partner Services, as well as transparency for parents through simplification and standardisation of fee table data.

For programme year 2026/2027, the fee tables of all Partner Services will be subject to the review and approval of their CCC.

In instances where an individual identifies a potential increase to fees charged or a potential breach of Fee Management rules by a Core Funding Partner Service, they may seek to have this examined and a conclusion reached through the Core Funding Fee Review process. For the 2026/27 Programme Year, this investigation process is being conducted by the National Fee Review Team (NFRT), as well as members of the Department who will reach decisions on individual cases.

The Department is only made aware of a potential breach of the Fee Management contractual obligations when a Fee Review request is escalated to the NFRT. Once it is raised, a Fee Review is commenced and where a Service is found to be in breach, they must sign a Declaration and carry out specific remedial actions. Once these remedial actions are complete, they are then considered to be compliant under the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.

In the event that an individual wishes to raise a concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local

Further detail on this process is available in the Guidelines on Fee Management section on the Early Years Hive: .

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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391. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the historical fee information retained by her Department or its agents for participating providers, including the earliest date for which fee schedules are held; whether fee lists dating back to 30 September 2021 (or earlier where applicable) remain available for compliance and audit purposes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50367/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for this question, and I welcome the opportunity to confirm that the National Childcare Scheme website was updated on 1 February 2026 to include historical fees lists for service providers.

Historical fee data is available on the National Childcare Scheme’s Childcare Service Search for fees from the 2021/2022 programme year to the present programme year (2025/2026).

The portal hosting this information was originally designed to contain information for the current programme year only. The update introduced in late 2025 expanded its scope, allowing the Department to deliver on its commitment to ensure information regarding fees charged to parents is transparent, in line with commitments in the Programme for Government. Therefore, this welcome development ensures improved transparency in relation to early learning and childcare fees across the country.

I would like to also highlight that, in addition to services fees list - historical and current - the following information is also readily available on the portal:

• contact details for early learning and childcare services,
• whether these services are private, community or childminding services,
• the services calendar, which provide details of services operating hours per week and operating weeks per year, and
• whether the services offer the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme, the National Childcare Scheme and is taking part in the Core Funding scheme.

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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392. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether all providers in receipt of core funding are required to submit updated fee lists annually; the way in which those fee lists are verified against the baseline fee applicable under the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50368/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Core Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare providers towards their operating costs, designed to promote affordability for parents and sustainability for providers through increased funding to the sector.

When first introduced in 2022, Core Funding had an annual allocation of €259 million; €210.8 million of which was entirely new funding to the sector. That annual allocation has increased each year since and has exceeded €390 million for the current fourth year of the Scheme. This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years.

Additional funding secured in Budget 2026 will see the allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year from September 2026 increase to over €480 million, including €21.4 million in new funding to support Partner Services in meeting the fee management requirements.

A key condition of receiving the significant State funding that is available through the Scheme requires that a Partner Service adhere to the Core Funding fee management system, which includes a freeze on fees at 2021 levels and fee caps. This is to ensure that the State’s significant investment through the Scheme is not absorbed by unnecessary fee increases. This approach to stabilising fee rates in the sector is in line with the recommendations outlined in Partnership for the Public Good, the Expert Group report which was accepted by all of Government in December 2021.

Other key recommendations in Partnership for the Public Good related to supporting transparency for parents. Significant progress has been made in this area over recent years, including the building of a universal fee table consolidating fee information from all State schemes; data validations on the Early Years Hive to improve data quality; and the introduction of a Common Fee Structure to establish a framework for the categorisation of care types.

All Scheme participants are required to update their fee table at the start of the programme year, as per the 2026/2027 Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement at clause 4.3.24, “The Partner Service shall ensure that the fees set out in the Fee Table, Fee Policy and Parent Statement for Partner Services are the Fees Charged to parents or guardians for the relevant services offered in Programme Year 5 (2026/2027). Failure to comply with this obligation may result in the Minister, Department or Scheme Administrator exercising their rights under Clauses 7 and 8.”

To further improve the quality and transparency of information available to parents, in July 2025 the Department commenced a Core Funding Fee Table Approval process. As part of this exercise, CCCs reviewed the 2025/2026 fee tables of every service that applied to the Fee Increase Assessment process in programme year 2024/2025.

Accompanied by new fee table rules in programme year 2025/2026 and a fee table guideline document, this exercise promoted compliance with and understanding of scheme rules among Partner Services, as well as transparency for parents through simplification and standardisation of fee table data.

For programme year 2026/2027, the fee tables of all Partner Services will be subject to the review and approval of their CCC.

In the event that an individual wishes to raise a concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local

Further detail on this process is available in the Guidelines on Fee Management section on the Early Years Hive: .