Written Answers Nos. 384-403
384. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the intention within his Department to review the criteria of the ACRES scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50599/26]
View answerThe Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme, or ACRES, is the current agri-climate environment measure provided under the 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan (CSP).
As the Scheme was approved as part of the CSP, is fully subscribed with contracts currently in place, and participants fulfilling their commitments under those contracts, it is not appropriate to review the criteria of the Scheme.
It is currently proposed, in the draft regulations for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post 2027, that Member States must support certain environmental and climate priority areas. Insights and experiences gained from the implementation of ACRES since its commencement in 2023 will help to inform the design of future agri-environment climate actions, with the criteria for the next agri-environment scheme considered in that context.
385. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to take into consideration the mitigating circumstances in relation to the registration of ten calves in County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50731/26]
View answerMy Department received a request for review on 7 June 2026 and further correspondence on 28 June 2026 directly from the herdowner. The matter has now been resolved and a letter issued on 30 June 2026 directly to the herdowner.
386. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to address concerns regarding the lack of continuity and coordination of services for children with additional needs, particularly in relation to CDNT (Children's Disability Network Teams), including delays in access to services such as speech and language therapy, long waiting lists for assessments and therapies, the absence of effective handover between services and the impact this is having on school readiness and educational progression. [50398/26]
View answerAs this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
387. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the short-term or interim funding options available for an early education centre (details supplied) while it is awaiting the outcome of a sustainability fund application from the Dublin City Childcare Committee; to maintain this centre’s viability in the short term considering it is located in an area where there is already a significant shortage of childcare places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50327/26]
View answerI understand Dublin City Childcare Committee (DCCC) has met with the Moatview Early Education Centre Manager with regards to their present situation. It is expected that a follow up meeting will take place in July where the appropriate supports, both financial and non-financial, will be identified and progressed.
Dublin City Childcare Committee (DCCC) and Pobal need to assess the level of support required before progressing a sustainability funding request.
To support this, Moatview Early Education Centre should complete the Financial Planning Tool that was shared with them in June and return the document to DCCC as soon as possible.
While waiting for the outcome of the assessment, the service will continue to receive all current funding supports available to them. Since September 2025, the service has availed of funding from Core Funding, The National Childcare Scheme, Equal Start, the Access and Inclusion Model and the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme totalling €268,886.99
Once a service engages with their local City/County Childcare Committee, they will be able to avail of supports through the case management process. Through this process, local City/County Childcare Committees and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare services experiencing difficulties.
I would encourage any service experiencing difficulty and who would like support should contact their CCC to access case management supports. Contact details for all City and County Childcare Committees are available on the gov.ie website.
388. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the mechanisms in place to ensure that early learning and childcare providers participating in the core funding scheme comply with the fee management conditions, and do not increase fees charged to parents contrary to the terms of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50364/26]
View answer390. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of fee management reviews, investigations, audits or compliance checks undertaken in each year since the introduction of core funding; the number of breaches identified and sanctions applied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50366/26]
View answer393. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of fee reviews initiated; the number of fee reviews initiated since the establishment of the core funding scheme resulted in a finding that parents were being overcharged by a partner service and therefore in breach of core funding rules; to confirm if payments to that service provider have been placed on hold; her plans to recoup the overcharged fees for parents, including by legal action if required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50369/26]
View answer394. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality where a finding of overcharging/breach of core funding rules was made against a partner service, to indicate in each instance the length of time the case took from first complaint to a finding that the partner service was breaching core funding rules; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50370/26]
View answer395. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of cases where a partner service was found to have raised fees in breach of the core funding rules, if the relevant partner service has confirmed to her Department that it has completed all remedial actions within the specified time period, including refunds of parents if required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50371/26]
View answer396. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in situations where the partner service has confirmed that they have completed all remedial actions including refunds, to outline the way in which the evidence of remedy provided by the service provider has been verified by her Department; if parents and service users who were deemed to have been overcharged have been included in this process in order to confirm that they have in fact been appropriately refunded, if applicable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50372/26]
View answer397. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to identify the instances where a finding has been made that a partner service has overcharged parents in breach of core funding rules; where the deadline for complying with the remedial actions including refunds has passed and her Department has been made aware (by any means) that the partner service has not in fact complied with the remedial actions required of them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50373/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 388, 390, 393, 394, 395, 396 and 397 together.
The Department is conscious of the importance of promoting affordability for parents without compromising the viability of businesses in the sector.
The Core Funding Programme, which is administered by Pobal, has a number of system validations in place as part of the application process to validate the information input by services. These system validations cross reference data on, or submitted by, services with a range of sources, including the Tusla Register of Early Years Services. This structured, system based approach has proven effective in ensuring the information provided by services is accurate and meets Core Funding requirements prior to contracting.
In July 2025, the Department and Pobal launched a pilot compliance check involving 30 services to assess adherence to the Graduate Lead Educator premium requirements under the grant scheme. The findings from these checks are informing the development of a strengthened and standardised compliance checklist for the programme.
To provide a level of accountability for exchequer funding the Fee Review process was initially piloted in 2023 with Pobal carrying out the reviews. In July 2024 the National Fee Review Team (NFRT) was established and the pilot Fee review process was moved to an interim Fee Review process. The NFRT consists of members from 2 City/County Childcare Committees and members of staff within the Department.
The Department is only made aware of a potential breach of the Fee Management contractual obligations when a Fee Review request is escalated to the NFRT. Once it is raised, a Fee Review is commenced. Since the establishment of the Fee Review process there have been 19 Fee Reviews carried out under the pilot Fee Review process, 21 under NFRT for programme year 2024/2025 and there is currently 18 Fee Reviews for programme year 2025/2026.
As of 30 June 2026, 27 services who entered the Fee Review process have been found in breach of the Core Funding Fee Management rules. Once a Fee Review has reached a final decision, if the Partner Service is found in breach of the Core Funding Fee Management rules, they must return a Declaration and complete remedial actions, one of which is to refund affected parents which have been identified by the Partner Service.
The Fee Review process has sanctions that can be deployed only where necessary. Should a Partner Service fail to engage in the process; refuse to sign a declaration, and/or fail to complete their remedial actions, their funding may be placed on hold. If the Partner Service does not engage in the process or fail to carry out the remedial actions by the end of the Core Funding programme year, the Partner Service will forfeit any funding that is on hold and will be placed on hold if they re-enter Core Funding the following programme year.
As the circumstances in each case are different and communication is across multiple stakeholders, a finite timeline for a Fee Review is not possible. The timeline for each case is dependent on the amount of information and clarification at each stage, the multiple analysis that ensures due diligence of cross checking, and the nature of communication across multiple organisations. The National Fee Review Team endeavours to complete any case within the shortest possible timeframe.
As Core Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare and school aged childcare providers, a Partner Service signs a Core Funding Partner Service Agreement, each programme year. The Agreement is between the Partner Service and the Department.
To purchase childcare, a parent enters a contract with a Partner Service, the majority of which are private businesses. This contract is between the Partner Service and the parent. The Department is not party to the contract and has no remit over this private contract and is only able to take actions within the rules of Core Funding. The Core Funding contract does not allow for recoupment for parents by the Department or through the Core Funding payments.
In the event that an individual wishes to raise a concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/city-and-county-childcare-committees/).
Further detail on this process is available in the Guidelines on Fee Management section on the Early Years Hive: Guidelines on Fee Management - Service Provider Portal (www.earlyyearshive.ncs.gov.ie/Fee-Review-Process-Guidelines-for-2026-2027-Programme-Year.pdf)
389. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether compliance is monitored directly by her Department, by Pobal, by the network of City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs), or by another body; to outline the respective responsibilities of each organisation in relation to monitoring and enforcement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50365/26]
View answerCore Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare providers towards their operating costs, designed to promote affordability for parents and sustainability for providers through increased funding to the sector.
The allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year, from September 2026, will increase to over €480 million, including €21.4 million in new funding to support Partner Services in meeting the fee management requirements.
A key condition of receiving the significant State funding that is available through the Scheme requires that a Partner Service adhere to the Core Funding fee management system, which includes a freeze on fees at 2021 levels and fee caps. This is to ensure that the State’s significant investment through the Scheme is not absorbed by unnecessary fee increases.
The Core Funding Programme, which is administered by Pobal, has a number of system validations in place as part of the application process to validate the information input by services. These system validations cross reference data on, or submitted by, services with a range of sources, including the Tusla Register of Early Years Services. This structured, system based approach has proven effective in ensuring the information provided by services is accurate and meets Core Funding requirements prior to contracting.
In July 2025 the Department commenced a Core Funding Fee Table Approval process. As part of this exercise, CCCs reviewed the 2025/2026 fee tables of each service that applied to the Fee Increase Assessment process in programme year 2024/2025.
Accompanied by new fee table rules in programme year 2025/2026 and a fee table guideline document, this exercise promoted compliance with and understanding of scheme rules among Partner Services, as well as transparency for parents through simplification and standardisation of fee table data.
For programme year 2026/2027, the fee tables of all Partner Services will be subject to the review and approval of their CCC.
In instances where an individual identifies a potential increase to fees charged or a potential breach of Fee Management rules by a Core Funding Partner Service, they may seek to have this examined and a conclusion reached through the Core Funding Fee Review process. For the 2026/27 Programme Year, this investigation process is being conducted by the National Fee Review Team (NFRT), as well as members of the Department who will reach decisions on individual cases.
The Department is only made aware of a potential breach of the Fee Management contractual obligations when a Fee Review request is escalated to the NFRT. Once it is raised, a Fee Review is commenced and where a Service is found to be in breach, they must sign a Declaration and carry out specific remedial actions. Once these remedial actions are complete, they are then considered to be compliant under the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.
In the event that an individual wishes to raise a concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local [City/County Childcare Committee (CCC).]
Further detail on this process is available in the Guidelines on Fee Management section on the Early Years Hive: [Guidelines on Fee Management - Service Provider Portal].
391. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the historical fee information retained by her Department or its agents for participating providers, including the earliest date for which fee schedules are held; whether fee lists dating back to 30 September 2021 (or earlier where applicable) remain available for compliance and audit purposes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50367/26]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for this question, and I welcome the opportunity to confirm that the National Childcare Scheme website was updated on 1 February 2026 to include historical fees lists for service providers.
Historical fee data is available on the National Childcare Scheme’s Childcare Service Search for fees from the 2021/2022 programme year to the present programme year (2025/2026).
The portal hosting this information was originally designed to contain information for the current programme year only. The update introduced in late 2025 expanded its scope, allowing the Department to deliver on its commitment to ensure information regarding fees charged to parents is transparent, in line with commitments in the Programme for Government. Therefore, this welcome development ensures improved transparency in relation to early learning and childcare fees across the country.
I would like to also highlight that, in addition to services fees list - historical and current - the following information is also readily available on the portal:
• contact details for early learning and childcare services,
• whether these services are private, community or childminding services,
• the services calendar, which provide details of services operating hours per week and operating weeks per year, and
• whether the services offer the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme, the National Childcare Scheme and is taking part in the Core Funding scheme.
A key element of the Core Funding scheme is to improve affordability for parents, by ensuring that services have not increased the fees charged to parents above what was charged in September 2021, unless approved by the Department through the 2024/2025 Fee Increase Assessment Process.
As well as this update, Department officials along with the Scheme Administrator Pobal, concurrently delivered a solution to provide access to historic fees list data from 2021/22 to the present through the network of City/County Childcare Committees. This allowed any individual with fee related queries to engage with their local City/County Childcare Committee for additional information and support in understanding fees charged to them.
The network of thirty City/County Childcare Committees across the country support parents and guardians to understand their early learning and childcare options and keep an updated directory of early learning and childcare services in their local areas.
Individuals can contact their local City/County Childcare Committees who are available to provide them with information and support in relation to fees.
The contact details for all thirty City/County Childcare Committees are available on gov.ie
392. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether all providers in receipt of core funding are required to submit updated fee lists annually; the way in which those fee lists are verified against the baseline fee applicable under the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50368/26]
View answerCore Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare providers towards their operating costs, designed to promote affordability for parents and sustainability for providers through increased funding to the sector.
When first introduced in 2022, Core Funding had an annual allocation of €259 million; €210.8 million of which was entirely new funding to the sector. That annual allocation has increased each year since and has exceeded €390 million for the current fourth year of the Scheme. This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years.
Additional funding secured in Budget 2026 will see the allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year from September 2026 increase to over €480 million, including €21.4 million in new funding to support Partner Services in meeting the fee management requirements.
A key condition of receiving the significant State funding that is available through the Scheme requires that a Partner Service adhere to the Core Funding fee management system, which includes a freeze on fees at 2021 levels and fee caps. This is to ensure that the State’s significant investment through the Scheme is not absorbed by unnecessary fee increases. This approach to stabilising fee rates in the sector is in line with the recommendations outlined in Partnership for the Public Good, the Expert Group report which was accepted by all of Government in December 2021.
Other key recommendations in Partnership for the Public Good related to supporting transparency for parents. Significant progress has been made in this area over recent years, including the building of a universal fee table consolidating fee information from all State schemes; data validations on the Early Years Hive to improve data quality; and the introduction of a Common Fee Structure to establish a framework for the categorisation of care types.
All Scheme participants are required to update their fee table at the start of the programme year, as per the 2026/2027 Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement at clause 4.3.24, “The Partner Service shall ensure that the fees set out in the Fee Table, Fee Policy and Parent Statement for Partner Services are the Fees Charged to parents or guardians for the relevant services offered in Programme Year 5 (2026/2027). Failure to comply with this obligation may result in the Minister, Department or Scheme Administrator exercising their rights under Clauses 7 and 8.”
To further improve the quality and transparency of information available to parents, in July 2025 the Department commenced a Core Funding Fee Table Approval process. As part of this exercise, CCCs reviewed the 2025/2026 fee tables of every service that applied to the Fee Increase Assessment process in programme year 2024/2025.
Accompanied by new fee table rules in programme year 2025/2026 and a fee table guideline document, this exercise promoted compliance with and understanding of scheme rules among Partner Services, as well as transparency for parents through simplification and standardisation of fee table data.
For programme year 2026/2027, the fee tables of all Partner Services will be subject to the review and approval of their CCC.
In the event that an individual wishes to raise a concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local [City/County Childcare Committee (CCC).]
Further detail on this process is available in the Guidelines on Fee Management section on the Early Years Hive: [Guidelines on Fee Management - Service Provider Portal].
398. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to urgently intervene and assist a family with respite and services in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50440/26]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
399. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to review the case of a child in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50467/26]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
400. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will assist in outlining a detailed pathway to residential accommodation for an adult with severe and complex disabilities (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50485/26]
View answerI wish to thank the Deputy for raising this question. As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
401. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of ECCE-only services nationally and by county in the years 2020 to 2025, inclusive. [50509/26]
View answerThe table below shows the total number of ECCE-only services, compiled by county and programme year from 2020/2021 to 2025/2026.
Number of ECCE-Only Services for Each Programme Year from 2020/21 –2025/26
|
County Division |
2020/2021 |
2021/2022 |
2022/2023 |
2023/2024 |
2024/2025 |
2025/2026 |
|
Cork* |
185 |
188 |
146 |
117 |
113 |
100 |
|
County Carlow |
10 |
12 |
10 |
9 |
7 |
7 |
|
County Cavan |
11 |
11 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
|
County Clare |
47 |
54 |
46 |
37 |
38 |
33 |
|
County Donegal |
35 |
42 |
20 |
14 |
15 |
15 |
|
County Galway |
53 |
61 |
44 |
35 |
30 |
34 |
|
County Kerry |
38 |
44 |
35 |
33 |
27 |
25 |
|
County Kildare |
69 |
67 |
54 |
50 |
47 |
38 |
|
County Kilkenny |
29 |
29 |
25 |
24 |
23 |
20 |
|
County Laois |
20 |
16 |
17 |
12 |
14 |
16 |
|
County Leitrim |
1 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
|
County Limerick |
64 |
67 |
54 |
55 |
49 |
39 |
|
County Longford |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
|
County Louth |
30 |
31 |
23 |
22 |
20 |
18 |
|
County Mayo |
44 |
43 |
37 |
31 |
28 |
27 |
|
County Meath |
80 |
77 |
68 |
63 |
55 |
53 |
|
County Monaghan |
6 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
County Offaly |
25 |
26 |
23 |
21 |
20 |
20 |
|
County Roscommon |
10 |
11 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
|
County Sligo |
20 |
21 |
19 |
16 |
14 |
9 |
|
County Tipperary |
39 |
39 |
27 |
20 |
22 |
21 |
|
County Waterford |
35 |
35 |
24 |
21 |
18 |
16 |
|
County Westmeath |
18 |
19 |
13 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
|
County Wexford |
34 |
30 |
26 |
25 |
23 |
23 |
|
County Wicklow |
65 |
64 |
55 |
48 |
38 |
34 |
|
Dublin City |
100 |
92 |
62 |
55 |
43 |
38 |
|
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown |
78 |
71 |
27 |
25 |
23 |
17 |
|
Fingal |
106 |
107 |
80 |
78 |
67 |
57 |
|
South Dublin |
70 |
63 |
50 |
44 |
38 |
37 |
|
National total |
1328 |
1336 |
1011 |
889 |
806 |
729 |
*Cork City and Cork County have been combined into a single category to account for boundary changes introduced in 2022.
All the above figures have been provided by the ECCE Scheme Administrator as at 30/06/2026.
Please note that service counts are based on activity at any point within a programme year and therefore include services that may have opened or closed during that period. These figures should not be interpreted as the number of services operating at a single point in time.
402. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will urgently assist a family in south Kerry with a home care package (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50546/26]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
403. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1613 of 9 June 2026, the reason the average number of placement changes experienced by children in State care, broken down by duration in care categories of less than one year, one to three years, three to five years, and more than five years, is not centrally collated by Tusla; if this data gap has been identified on Tusla’s corporate risk register or any internal audit plan; the timeline by which Tusla’s “data management and reporting systems” review, as referenced in the answer will be capable of producing this breakdown; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50554/26]
View answer404. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality given that Tusla’s only published placement stability metric is the number of children in their third or greater placement within the previous 12 months (328 of 5,729 children in care at end of 2025), whether her Department considers this metric sufficient to monitor placement stability across all durations in care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50555/26]
View answer405. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason for the 40% increase in the number of children in care experiencing three or more placement changes within a twelve-month period, from 231 in 2023 to 324 in 2024; whether this increase has been analysed by Tusla; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50556/26]
View answer406. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the number of children in care experiencing three or more placement changes within a twelve-month period is recorded on any Tusla or Departmental risk register; whether this metric is subject to any audit process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50557/26]
View answer407. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason for the disproportionate increase in children experiencing three or more placement changes in the Dublin northeast region, which tripled from 30 in 2021 to 91 in 2025; whether any target or action plan exists to reduce placement instability nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50558/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 403, 404, 405, 406 and 407 together.
I would like to thank the Deputy for this question regarding permanency and stability for children in the care of the State.
Tusla has developed a policy and operational document relating to permanency planning for children in care, the Pathways to Permanency Handbook. This document supports social work practitioners and decision makers in their aim to ensure stable and safe care placements for children.
Detailed information in relation to permanency and placements for children in care is available through Tusla’s annual Review of Adequacy report, available on the Tusla website: https://www.tusla.ie/publications/review-of-adequacy-reports/. Tusla also publishes data through its Data Hub, available online at: ww.data.tusla.ie/.
