Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 July 2026
442. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children, by county, who benefited from supports under the national childcare scheme in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54502/26]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy the number of unique children who benefitted from an NCS subsidy for the specified years by county is detailed in the following table:
|
Provider county |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
2026 YTD |
|
Carlow |
2,249 |
2,558 |
2,878 |
2,477 |
|
Cavan |
3,703 |
4,417 |
5,108 |
4,583 |
|
Clare |
3,812 |
4,793 |
5,729 |
5,175 |
|
Cork |
17,708 |
21,934 |
25,494 |
22,748 |
|
Donegal |
7,776 |
8,897 |
9,930 |
8,644 |
|
Dublin |
48,867 |
57,659 |
64,661 |
57,326 |
|
Galway |
13,030 |
15,530 |
17,187 |
15,447 |
|
Kerry |
6,524 |
7,807 |
8,795 |
7,708 |
|
Kildare |
7,461 |
9,268 |
10,686 |
9,643 |
|
Kilkenny |
3,829 |
4,468 |
4,874 |
4,149 |
|
Laois |
3,726 |
4,365 |
4,598 |
3,945 |
|
Leitrim |
1,626 |
1,961 |
2,237 |
2,007 |
|
Limerick |
7,937 |
9,646 |
11,096 |
9,980 |
|
Longford |
1,717 |
1,941 |
2,149 |
1,956 |
|
Louth |
4,454 |
5,290 |
5,834 |
4,930 |
|
Mayo |
3,984 |
5,155 |
5,984 |
5,313 |
|
Meath |
6,383 |
7,717 |
8,928 |
7,860 |
|
Monaghan |
4,527 |
5,094 |
5,494 |
5,038 |
|
Offaly |
1,920 |
2,424 |
2,862 |
2,378 |
|
Roscommon |
2,522 |
3,090 |
3,595 |
3,242 |
|
Sligo |
3,623 |
4,243 |
4,734 |
4,127 |
|
Tipperary |
7,856 |
9,703 |
11,237 |
10,283 |
|
Waterford |
4,370 |
5,025 |
5,716 |
5,000 |
|
Westmeath |
3,655 |
4,211 |
4,657 |
4,003 |
|
Wexford |
6,243 |
7,431 |
8,420 |
7,347 |
|
Wicklow |
4,766 |
5,921 |
6,453 |
5,558 |
|
Total |
182,523 |
218,576 |
246,998 |
220,218 |
It should be noted that the figure for 2026 is for the year to date and the number of children benefitting from the NCS subsidy in 2026 is likely to increase further before the end of the year.
It should also be noted that there may be a difference between the sum of children per county versus the final total. This is because children can have multiple claims in a given calendar year which could be across multiple providers, in multiple counties. However, for the purposes of the 'total', these children have only been counted once.
