Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
121. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress to date in identifying the locations of the eight pilot public childcare facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13270/26]
View answerI recently announced €135 million in capital investment in buildings for high-quality, accessible State-led early learning and childcare. The process will begin in 2026 with investment in buildings in what will be a ground-breaking initiative for this Government. Capital funding will be used to acquire and/or fit out the building, depending on requirements.
The objectives of the capital programme are:
To deliver additional publicly subsidised supply for Early Learning and Care where required, with a focus on places for 1- to 3-year-olds and sufficient places for children to age up in the same service.
To deliver additional supply where required in areas of disadvantage and rural areas.
To eEnsure all supply delivered is inclusive and high quality.
To deliver supply in appropriate locations, taking account of accessibility for parents, links with other relevant services/amenities, appropriate land-use, and spatial planning goals.
To ensure cost-effectiveness and timeliness of delivery.
and
To support improved public management of the ELC sector as a whole.
A suite of appraisal tools have been developed, including a forward planning model, in order to select projects that align with these objectives.
Examples of criteria include: alignment with planning strategy; services accessibility; public transport accessibility; estimated number of places created; demand for 1-ECCE age; demand for other age groups; estimated total project cost; estimated cost per place; timeliness/readiness; level of deprivation of surrounding area; level of rurality of surrounding area; make up and resilience of sector in local area in surrounding area; project alignment with the Universal Design Guidelines.
The focus in the new State-led facilities on providing places for 1-3 year old children, with scope for these children to progress in the service until they start school, is because this is where the need is greatest.
Up to eight buildings will be selected for investment this year and the State-led initiative will provide thousands of places up to 2030 using the €135 million provided in the National Development Plan.
A Capital Steering Group is in place within the Department. The Department is assessing sites and buildings and, where required, will seek expressions of interest from operators to deliver these State-led services.
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality is in discussions with local authorities and State agencies, including the Land Development Agency, about the potential for acquiring buildings.
Advanced discussions are ongoing with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in relation to the early learning and care facility at the Shanganagh Castle Estate, and a range of other projects are also being considered.
No final decisions have yet been made on the specific projects but I look forward to sharing details of projects as they are agreed.
The level of investment will ramp up over the lifetime of the Government. The initial approach is on purchasing and refurbishment of buildings given that this is a faster route to delivery in the short term. However, the option of building new facilities will also be considered over subsequent years.
