Pat Buckley
Question:658. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare places currently available in the constituency of east Cork [36033/25]
View answerTuesday, 1 July 2025
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Each year, Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile.
The most recent published capacity data for the 2023/24 programme year provides estimated data for enrolments by county boundaries.
Data from 2023/24 estimated that there were 17,663 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services in Cork County (note: this does not include Cork City). This data also indicated that 44% had at least one vacant place and an estimated 31% had a waiting list.
It is important to note that waiting list data should not be used as a measure of overall demand for ELC and SAC places. While waiting list data can be used to give an indication of demand for places for a given age group or service type not all services operate a waiting list. In addition, an individual child may be on multiple waiting lists in different services.
Further information can be found on the Early Learning and Childcare data website. The Capacity Section of the website provides information on the number of children enrolled, services with vacant places, and services with a waiting list.