Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 November 2025
553. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide data on regional disparities in childcare availability, including areas where supply is failing to meet demand; the targeted interventions which are being developed to alleviate childcare shortages in those areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65057/25]
View answerImproving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government.
Overall, early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile in 2024 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by 19% in the previous two years. 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.
Current data on childcare capacity at county level is available at www.pobal.ie/childcare/capacity/.
The development of a forward planning model is currently underway led by the Forward Planning and Delivery Unit. The model seeks to identify the nature and volume of different types of early learning and childcare places across the country and how that aligns with the numbers of children in the corresponding age cohorts at local area level. An extensive data analysis and cleaning exercise is currently being undertaken to map available publicly subsidised supply.
The analysis of the forward planning model will provide a key input into the approach to the capital programme to be resourced through the allocation in the revised National Development Plan 2026-2030. It will be one of a number of factors considered when selecting and prioritising projects. Other factors will reflect the policy goals of the Department to support a high-quality, inclusive and accessible early learning and childcare system and to ensure value for money.
The forward planning model is being designed primarily as a tool for internal analysis. The maps and data that the model will produce will contain protected categories of data and will therefore not be made generally available in full. As the model is further developed along with accompanying policy work related to supply, aggregated statistics, including statistics broken down by local geographical area, may be made available, subject to data protection considerations.
As announced in the context of Budget 2026, €36 million will be available in 2026 for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include acquisitions of new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme, investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the Building Blocks scheme and a number of quality initiatives including supports to childminders.
Preparatory work for this programme of capital investment is underway, with the programme planned to commence in line with the revised NDP allocation from 2026 onwards. As such, no decisions on prioritisation or targeting of certain local geographic areas within counties have yet been made.
The approach to ensuring appropriate levels of early learning and childcare supply, including through State-led facilities, will be further articulated in the context of the Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system that the Government is committed to publishing.
