Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 December 2025
362. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when locations will be prioritised under the forthcoming childcare capital investment programme; whether towns in Kildare North will be considered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72843/25]
View answerImproving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government.
The Programme for Government commits for the first time to provide capital investment to build or purchase state-owned early learning and childcare facilities, to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. State ownership of facilities is a very substantial and significant development and offers the potential for much greater scope to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignment with estimated demand. This work will be supported through capital investment under the revised National Development Plan.
The total capital allocation for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality under the revised National Development Plan for the period 2026-30 is €795 million including €197 million for early learning and childcare. As announced in the context of Budget 2026, €36 million of this will be available in 2026 for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include investment in new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme and investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the Building Blocks scheme as well as other quality initiatives.
The focus in the State-led services will be on services to meet demand for affordable, accessible, high quality early learning and childcare that is not otherwise being delivered, including on full day provision particularly for younger children.
Preparatory work for this programme of capital investment is underway, with the multi-year programme planned to commence from 2026 onwards. As such, no decisions on prioritisation or selection of certain locations have yet been made.
The Government is already 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. This allows existing Core Funding Partner Services to extend their existing premises or, in the case of community services, to construct or purchase new premises. The Scheme will deliver up to 1,500 full-day care places for 1- to 3-year-olds which will begin coming on stream from 2026. Two services in North Kildare are working to complete the legal formalities for the scheme.
The Department 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. Contact details for the Kildare County Childcare Committee may be found at www.kccc.ie.
