Maeve O'Connell
Question:212. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to report on her Department’s estimates for the supply and demand of ELC/SAC over the next five years. [36387/25]
View answerWednesday, 2 July 2025
Questions (212)
Written answers
Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government.
Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. Core Funding application data shows that between Year 1 and Year 3 of the scheme, annual place hours increased by over 15%. The Tusla register of services demonstrates a net increase in the numbers of registered early learning and childcare services in 2024. However, it appears that demand for early learning and childcare remains higher than available supply in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children.
Whereas there is a clear aspiration to ensure access to sessional preschool through the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme for all children for the two years prior to the start of primary school, the level of full time provision for children under 3 determined to be required by the Barcelona targets is 35% of the population.
Government has committed, through the First 5 target, to delivering 60,000 State-funded places for children under 3. By extension, there will be a need for at least the same number of full-day places for ECCE-age children.
In relation to school-age childcare, the supply of places has grown substantially in recent years. Estimated enrolments in school-age childcare, based on Sector Profile data, have grown by 56% over the last two years.
Demand for early learning and childcare 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. Survey data undertaken on behalf of my Department indicates that centre-based early learning and childcare is the preferred option for 44% of parents of preschool age children as their primary arrangement for care of their children. Demand is also be affected by the size of the child population. The CSO forecasts a continued declining birth rate over the next five years.
A Forward Planning and Delivery Unit in my Department has been allocated additional resources and is focused on identifying areas of need, forecasting demand, and planning for the delivery of public supply within the early learning and childcare sector where required.
A forward planning model is in development which will be central to my Department's plans to achieve the policy goals set out in the Programme for Government to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system, with State-led facilities adding capacity.
The Programme for Government is clear that we will continue to grow State involvement and investment in the sector, while working in partnership with private providers, to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capacity.