Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
500. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the details of additional funding and investment proposed for Irish-language preschools, including increases to annual grants, capital funding for buildings, and support for operational sustainability in rural and island areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13813/26]
View answer501. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions being taken to upgrade infrastructure and facilities in Irish-language early childhood services to address limitations leading to waiting lists, including support for co-location with schools or community buildings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13814/26]
View answer502. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures her Department will implement to meet the growing demand for Irish-language preschools, particularly in Gaeltacht areas with long waiting lists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13815/26]
View answer504. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps being taken to ensure the expansion and sustainability of Irish-language early childhood services outside Gaeltacht areas, including in areas such as County Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13817/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 500 to 502, inclusive, and 504 together.
€135 million will be made available between 2026 and 2030 for the State-led Early Learning and Childcare capital programme, providing high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare.
The process will begin in 2026 with investment in buildings in what will be a ground-breaking initiative for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. Capital funding will be used to acquire and/or fit out the building, depending on requirements. The Department will work with not-for-profit providers to design, open and operate services.
The language of provision in State-led services will depend on the operator and project selected. No final decisions have yet been made on the specific projects. The Department intends to work with not-for-profit operators in the sector in order to operationalise State-led services, with a particular focus on increasing the delivery of full day places for children aged 1 to 3, with provision for these children to continue in the service until they start school.
Separately, the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is currently in operation. Successful applicants are in the process of finalising the legal formalities associated with the scheme, with some services already actively delivering their projects.
Following on from the success of the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme, a further Building Blocks scheme will open for applications in 2026. This round of capital funding will focus on funding extensions to existing premises to allow for increased numbers of children to be offered places on a full-time basis. Community and private providers who are currently Core Funding partner services will be eligible to apply for this scheme.
I expect to announce details of the next Building Blocks scheme in the coming weeks.
Core Funding is a supply-side grant to providers designed to support quality, sustainability, and affordability for parents through associated conditions in relation to fee control and cost transparency.
Core Funding operates alongside the National Childcare Scheme, the Early Childhood Care and Education programme and Equal Start and constitutes additional income for providers on top of funding for these schemes, as well as income from parental fees.
Core Funding has seen an increase in investment of 50% since it began in 2022, rising from €259 million in its first year to over €390 million in the current programme year, and will increase to over €480 million in the next programme year (September 2026 – August 2027). This represents an increase of over 85% in four years – an unprecedented level of State investment.
This increased allocation will allow us to maintain fees at 2021 levels in Year 5, support further improvements in pay for staff, and support services in adhering to reduced maximum fee caps from September 2026 – ensuring sustainability and stability for the sector.
In addition to increased funding, the Department has also made changes to improve the sustainability of providers through, for example, targeted measures for small and sessional services, and a fee increase assessment and approval process for services with fees frozen at unsustainably low rates.
Participation in Core Funding also unlocks additional supports for services, including access to support for services caring for concentrated numbers of children facing disadvantage through Equal Start, and opportunities to apply for capital grants through the Department.
Core Funding funds services based on the number of places available, not on child registrations and attendance levels. Places do not have to be filled in order to be allocated Core Funding. This provides stability and sustainability to services by focusing on the services to be delivered by the settings, rather than individual child attendance.
There are sustainability challenges for some rural and Gaeltacht services due to the natural fluctuations in a small local population. As a part of the Case Management process, financial assistance under sustainability funding may be granted in respect of the ongoing operational expenditure and liabilities of a service facing and unable to deal with these challenges.
This funding is designed to support the continued provision of ELC/SAC Services Providers in rural communities and encourage efficiency by providing governance and business model supports to support the long-term sustainability and safeguard exchequer investment.
City or County Childcare Committees assist services with issues and difficulties that arise as a part of the Case Management process. This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting and analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, financial support, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.
Any childcare service experiencing financial difficulty and who would like support can contact their County Childcare Committee (CCC) to access case management supports. Contact details for the County Childcare Committee can be found online at the Department’s gov.ie website.
The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG) has responsibility for the Irish language. DRCDG provides additional supports for Irish-medium ELC services in the Gaeltacht through its agencies and organisations such as Comhar Naíonraí na Gaeltachta.
In addition, in June 2024, DRCDG announced five-year funding to provide a comprehensive support and development service to naíonraí outside of the Gaeltacht, to be administered by Gaeloideachas. Furthermore, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality has provided funding to Gaeloideachas in 2025 and 2026 to support Irish-medium ELC settings.
The Department is working in collaboration with other relevant Departments and Agencies to develop a national plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) sector. The development of such a plan is a commitment in the 5-Year Action Plan for the Irish Language.
The national plan is expected to support the delivery of two commitments in First 5 (the Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families): “Introduce measures to ensure that children in Gaeltacht areas have access to Irish-medium ELC provision” and “Develop mechanisms to provide Irish-language supports to ELC provision where there are high proportions of children who are learning through the medium of Irish”.
The plan is also expected to support the delivery of commitments in the Programme for Government to: “Support naíonraí and creches to ensure early education access in Gaeltacht communities and beyond” and “Plan the development of State-led facilities in tandem with the school building programme, including Irish-medium naíonraí”.
In addition to the focus on the provision of Irish-medium ELC and SAC services, it is anticipated that the new national plan will also include measures to support English-medium ELC services to work within the updated Aistear early childhood curriculum framework, which was published in December 2024. The updated Aistear includes an aim of supporting young children to have an awareness and appreciation of Gaeilge and our cultural and linguistic heritage.
It is intended that the Plan and associated consultation reports will be published in the coming months.
