Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 March 2026
768. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to confirm the membership of the committee responsible for the adjudication of sites for the State-led provision of childcare and early years education services; the number of times it has met since its inception; the number of applications it has adjudicated on and the location of same. [17161/26]
View answerAn Early Learning and Childcare Capital Steering Group has been established to support and guide the programme of investment in State-led early learning and childcare. Its role is to provide expertise on project selection and programmatic issues. It will review business cases and appraisals prior to their being submitted for approval. It will also monitor and evaluate projects and the programme as a whole, assess risks, establish processes to support project selection, monitor wider change in the sector, and evaluate different delivery mechanisms and operational approaches within the programme.
Decision-making on projects and programmatic issues will rest with Department officials, with the Steering Group's expertise and insights providing a valuable input into that decision-making.
The Capital Steering Group is chaired by the Assistant Secretary for the Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Division. Other members include senior staff with knowledge and understanding of the sector, another member of the Department's Management Board nominated by the Secretary General, and representatives from the Office of Public Works and the Department of Education’s Planning and Building Unit who bring technical expertise related to capital projects.
The Steering Group was established on foot of the establishment of the programme in January of this year. It has met once, and its next meeting is scheduled for later this month.
Preliminary Business Cases for a number of potential projects will be brought to that meeting of the group for consideration. This will inform a decision of whether to approve the projects in principle. This enables further preparatory and design work to be undertaken on those projects. I look forward to sharing details of projects as they are agreed.
