Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 July 2026
256. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to urgently address the shortage of childcare places, address pay and conditions of childcare employees, provide additional staff and childcare centres across County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50281/26]
View answerImproving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age 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.
One of the ways Government is supporting the expansion of capacity is through capital funding.
The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is designed to increase capacity for full day places for children aged 1–3. Core Funding Partner Services could apply for capital funding to physically extend their premises or, in the case of community services, to construct or purchase new premises. The scheme will deliver up to 1,500 full-day care places.
A further Building Blocks scheme is now open for applications. This round of capital funding will fund 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.
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.
The State-led initiative will provide thousands of places up to 2030.
The Department is now assessing project options in order to identify which are best placed to deliver on the goals of the programme.
Project proposals can be brought to the attention of the Department through completion of a preliminary appraisal form which is available from City and County Childcare Committees.
I believe the roles of the early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners are valuable ones, and they play an important part in supporting children's development, learning and care. 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 positive signs in relation to the number of educators/practitioners working with children in the sector which has increased by over 8% between 2024 and 2025 and has increased by over 33% since 2022. In Kerry the number of staff working with children has increased by over 25% since 2022.
However, I do acknowledge that many early learning and childcare services report recruitment and retention issues but, 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. Pay is one of a number of challenges impacting the early learning and care and school-age childcare workforce. The level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners does not reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy.
Although the Government is the primary funder of the sector, it is not the employer and cannot directly set wages or conditions for any staff in the sector. Through the work of the independent JLC process pay and conditions are improving and successive ERO’s, minimum pay rates have now risen three times in four years, delivering an average 15% increase in minimum rates of pay. This marks significant progress in professionalising the workforce. The latest ERO came into effect in October 2025 which saw an increase in minimum pay rates of, on average, 10% and will increase pay for over 67% of staff in the sector. 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 services in meeting the increased cost of minimum pay rates in the sector.
For programme year 2026/2027, I recently announced that Core Funding will be increased by 23% to €480 million. An additional €45 million has also been ringfenced from September 2026 to support services in meeting the potential costs of increasing rates of pay, contingent upon new ERO’s being enacted following successful negotiations by the JLC.
In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government to continue to support Employment Regulation Orders to attract and retain early years educators, I met with JLC representatives in April to outline the Government's continued support for the improvement of pay for educators and practitioners working in the sector and the Joint Labour Committee process.
I have been informed that the parties in the Joint Labour Committee have commenced negotiations. The Department continues to support the Joint Labour Committee and the negotiation process by fulfilling data requests which it has received from the JLC members.
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.
