Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 July 2026
350. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare services in Cork city and county currently operating at full capacity; the number with waiting lists; the number with vacancies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53771/26]
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. While ELC and SAC offerings vary across service providers and the allocation of ELC of SAC places is flexible, the published capacity data provides an estimate of the number of children enrolled in ELC and SAC, the percentage of services with at least one vacant place and the percentage of services operating a waiting list at a given time. At the time of the survey there were 171 service providers with a contract for a DCDE funding programme or scheme operating in Cork City and 388 in Cork County.
The most recent published capacity data for the 2024/25 programme year indicated that 60% of services in Cork City reported that they had no vacant places at the time of the survey, 42% reported operating a waiting list and 40% reported having at least one vacant place. In Cork County, 57% of services reported that they had no vacant places at the time of the survey, 31% reported operating a waiting list and 43% reported having at least one vacant place.
As part of the early years sector profile survey, providers are asked whether they operate a waiting list and, where applicable, the number of entries on a waiting list for a place for their service. While this data can be used to give an indication of demand, it should not be used as a measure of overall demand for ELC or SAC places as it is vulnerable to overestimating the actual number of children requiring a place. An individual child may be on multiple waiting lists in different services and may remain on one or multiple service lists after taking up a place.
Further information can be found on the Early Learning and Childcare data website: www.pobal.ie/data-library/early-learning-and-childcare-data/
The Capacity Section of the website provides information on the number of children enrolled, services with vacant places, and services with a waiting list.
