Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
86. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has conducted or commissioned any recent analysis of the financial sustainability of small and medium-sized childcare providers under the current core funding model; and if she will publish the findings of such analysis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65167/25]
View answerThe introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259m of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8m was entirely new funding. The scheme now provides over €390 million investment in this sector. I was pleased to announce that the State is increasing investment through Core Funding in 2026, with €480 million allocated for Core Funding in its fifth year which begins in September 2026.
In response to concerns raised by some sector representatives regarding the financial viability of sessional early learning and childcare services, the Department commissioned an independent financial review of sessional early learning and childcare services in 2023.
This review involved sessional services volunteering to participate in the research project that aimed to gather evidence on financial viability to underpin policy development and possible targeted measures through the new funding model.
The review was carried out by Frontier Economics and the report was published on 8 January 2024.
In response to these concerns, the Department also introduced targeted measures for sessional services in 2023 through Core Funding. These measures included a flat rate allocation for all sessional-only services and a minimum base rate allocation which benefits small and medium sized services. These targeted measures have since been strengthened annually.
The financial viability of all early learning and childcare services will continue to be kept under review by the Department through analysis of financial returns under Core Funding Financial Reporting Requirements.
Apteligen Limited were awarded the contract for the analysis of the first two years financial data collected through Core Funding in September 2025. Work is underway, and the project is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2026 with a report to be published thereafter.
This analysis will provide key insights into the Early Learning and Care and School Aged Childcare sector. Insights from this project will strengthen the evidence base available to inform the development of policies for this sector delivering a public good in partnership with the State.
In addition, an evaluation of the first year of Core Funding and the development of an evaluation framework for the scheme is currently underway. This project will examine the early implementation of Core Funding and make recommendations for future evaluations of the grant. Findings from the project are expected in Quarter 1 2026.
This project is being undertaken by Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service or IGEES policy analysts working in the Research and Evaluation Unit of the Department.
IGEES is an integrated cross-government service established in 2012 with the objective of enhancing the role of economics and value for money analysis in public policy making. It is part of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.
In addition to this formal evaluation, since the Scheme was introduced, its effectiveness has been subject to ongoing review and the scheme itself has evolved year on year.
