Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
968. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department holds, or plans to develop, disaggregated early learning and care capacity and demand data at Galway city level rather than county level, particularly in respect of children under two years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30664/26]
View answerEach year, Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile. Data for the Early Years Sector Profile is typically captured in May/June of each programme year. All services who are contracted to deliver at least one DCDE funded programme/scheme are invited to take part. In 2024/25, 87% of services responded within the data collection window.
The capacity data from responding services in the Early Years Sector Profile is used to estimate the number of enrolments for all services. Currently the capacity data is estimated nationally and by City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) area.
Providing a more granular breakdown limits the statistical reliability of the data, due to the challenge of having an adequate sample size across age groups to produce estimated figures. The Department therefore does not currently have plans to further disaggregate data on ELC capacity and demand at a Galway City level.
