Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 May 2026
320. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the impact of repeated childcare room closures in County Meath (details supplied); and the actions her Department is taking to address staffing retention, accountability, and childcare provision in growing commuter towns throughout Ireland. [38691/26]
View answerImproving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government.
Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2024/25 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 25% from the 2021/22 programme year. However, it appears that demand for early learning and childcare remains higher than available supply in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children.
The Department continues to support the ongoing development and resourcing of Core Funding which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced. Core Funding, which is in its fourth programme year, funds services based on the number of places available.
This provides stability to services, and reduces the risk associated with opening a new service or expanding an already existing service.
The Government is also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is designed to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care. Core Funding Partner Services could apply for capital funding to physically extend their premises or to construct or purchase new premises. The Scheme will deliver up to 1,500 full-day care places for 1- to 3-year-olds.
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. Details can be found at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/building-blocks-extension-scheme-phase-2/
Separately, I recently announced €135 million of capital investment over the coming five years for State-led services to provide 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.
Up to eight buildings will be selected for investment this year. The State-led initiative will provide thousands of places up to 2030.
To become a Partner Service an approved provider must enter into a Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement with the Department and comply with the term and conditions. These conditions are primarily designed to support affordability, quality, transparency, and sustainability in the sector and to safeguard public funds. Requirements of the scheme include fee management conditions, offering the National Childcare Scheme and the Early Childhood Care and Education programme to eligible children and the requirement to submit financial returns to the Department.
Core Funding is a grant to Partner Services. To generate a Core Funding allocation, services are required to submit and maintain details of their typical week in their application. It is a contractual obligation that Partner Services update their application when a significant or material change has occurred.
Core Funding is allocated based on several elements, with the majority of funding based on “staffed capacity”, which is the number of child places the service can accommodate according to the services staffing levels. This “staffed capacity” must be available to parents.
Core Funding is designed to support quality in services, including through better terms and conditions for staff and supporting graduate leadership in services, sustainability for providers through substantially increased funding to the sector, paid on a consistent and equitable basis, and enhanced public management, with associated conditions in relation to fee control, data collection, governance, compliance, and cost transparency.
Any person who would like assistance regarding their childcare are encouraged to contact their local City/County Childcare Committee, contact details for which can be found on the gov.ie website.
For the 2025/2026 Programme Year, Partner Services must uphold their contractual obligations regarding their fees charged to parents/guardians as laid out in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement for 2025/2026.
Where an individual identifies a case of a potential breach of these contractual obligations by a Partner Service, they may seek to have this examined and a conclusion reached through the Core Funding Fee Review Process.
Support can be provided by your local County/City Childcare Committee. Contact details for all City and County Childcare Committees are available on the gov.ie website.
In a very competitive labour market and with low levels of unemployment, recruitment and retention is a challenge for all employers.
The current Annual Early Years Sector Profile data shows that the number of educators/practitioners working with children in the sector has increased by over 8% between 2024 and 2025 and has increased by over 33% since 2022 with the national average turnover rate falling by 1.3% to 24.5% in 2025.
However, it is acknowledged that many early learning and childcare services report recruitment and retention issues. In general, these challenges are not caused by insufficient supply of staff, but by high levels of turnover mainly due to low pay and conditions.
Although the Government is the primary funder of the sector, it is not the employer and cannot directly set wages or conditions.
The Joint Labour Committee is the formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates, which are set down in Employment Regulation Orders, and is independent in its functions.
Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by Government through Core Funding. In this programme year 2025/26 Core Funding has increased by 6% to approximately €350 million with an additional €45 million in ring-fenced Core Funding provided to support early learning and care services in meeting the increased cost of minimum pay rates in the sector.
I recently announced, as part of launch of Shaping the Future: Early Years Action Plan in December, another allocation of up to €15m of ring-fenced funding from September 2026, which amounts up to €45m for the full programme year, to support service providers with costs associated with possible increases in minimum rates of pay negotiated via the independent Joint Labour Committee process.
Consequently, over 2 years, the Department has made an allocation of €90 million available to support possible increased rates of pay.
A longer-term workforce strategy for the sector is in place: "Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028". Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in the sector. One of the five "pillars" of Nurturing Skills comprises commitments aimed at supporting recruitment, retention and diversity in the workforce, and it includes actions to raise the profile of careers in the sector.
