Written Answers Nos. 399-421
399. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if a building under renovation at a location (details supplied) has been assigned to IPAS or will be assigned to IPAS for the purpose of accommodating asylum seekers. [13037/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThank you for your question, Deputy. A response will be provided directly to you in the coming days.
400. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will consider reopening the building blocks scheme through Pobal for 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13061/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra€25m in capital funding has been made available this year under the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme. The primary focus of the scheme is to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre-ECCE age range for full day care.
The application window for this scheme is now closed and an appraisal process has begun. I expect to announce the outcome of this process in the coming weeks.
The capital funding allocation for this scheme is required to be spent in this calendar year and my Department does not currently have further voted expenditure for any other capital schemes this year so it would not be feasible to reopen the scheme.
The approach to capital investment in future years is being considered in the context of the Programme for Government commitments.
401. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to comment on the Clondalkin children’s disability network team operating in prefabs on the grounds of a school (details supplied); the reason they are not operating from the new primary health care centre on the Boot Road; when they will move to the primary care centre; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13289/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
402. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to urgently intervene and ensure that a service provider who accepts funding from the HSE fulfils their obligations and contracts (details supplied); if he will accept that this day service is a lifeline for many families, and without its support many families will be left with no option but to seek residential care for their loved ones; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13299/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra433. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to urgently intervene and ensure a continuation of day services in Cahersiveen, County Kerry (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13290/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 402 and 433 together.
The Deputy may wish to be aware that my Department does not directly fund any charitable voluntary groups. Under Section 39 of the 2004 Health Act funding is provided by the Health Service Executive. I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly in relation to this matter, as soon as possible.
403. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will provide details of autism assessment waiting times in CHO 5. [12962/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
404. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of referrals to the national special care referrals committee per month, over the previous 24 months. [12963/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this relates to data held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been forwarded to the Agency for direct reply to the Deputy.
405. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth whether any guidance was given to social work teams to reduce the number of referrals made to the national special care referrals committee. [12964/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraSpecial care units are secure, residential facilities for children in care aged between 11 and 17 years. They are detained under a High Court care order for a short-term period of stabilisation when their behaviour poses a real and substantial risk of harm to their life, health, safety, development or welfare. In line with Article 37 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, such detention, which deprives a child of their liberty, is used only as a measure of last resort.
Tusla, The Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility for the operation of special care and the provision of special care beds. Every effort is being made by Tusla to support the provision of appropriate care, including special care where required, to vulnerable children.
Recruitment and Retention of staff in Special Care is a significant difficulty for Tusla. This has led to a reduction in operational capacity which has resulted in delays for young people being admitted to Special Care.
Across 2024 and into 2025, Tusla has continued to focus on addressing the well documented and complex issues impacting the capacity challenges in Special Care. All appropriate staff, led by the CEO and Executive Management Team(EMT), progressed key actions to increase special care capacity, reduce the delays for young people waiting admission to Special Care who are subject to a High Court Order, and to support the timely discharge of young people who no longer require placement in Special Care.
Actions taken by Tusla to date have included:
• Targeted and focussed campaigns to increase the number of staff working in Special Care
• Progression of new grades and remuneration specific to Special Care
• Targeted retention initiatives for special care staff
• Improvements to staff safety and wellbeing resulting in significant reductions metrics relating to Violence, Harassment and Aggression (VHA).
• Continued delivery of the Tusla Alternative Care strategies to increase placement capacity across the continuum of care (Foster Care, Residential Care and Step-down placements)
• Review of existing use of residential care centres to determine if they can be repurposed to support onward placement from Special Care.
Tusla have confirmed that these actions have not included guidance to social work teams to reduce the number of referrals made to the national Special Care referrals committee.
Following intensive work by Government, Tusla has been given sanction to advertise a new grade and pay scale for Special Care, to sit alongside existing grades.
This new Tusla Special Care Worker grade offers an improved salary scale, offering 19.4% higher pay at top-of-scale compared to the Tusla Social Care Worker grade. An additional €1 million has been made available in Budget 2025 to support Tusla to address staffing issues in special care.
Officials from my Department continue to work closely with Tusla to address the issues in the provision of Special Care places.
406. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the efforts being undertaken to progressively reduce childcare costs, including plans to review core funding to establish a forward planning and delivery unit within her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12978/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraInvestment in early learning and childcare is now at unprecedented levels clearly demonstrating Government commitment to this area.
As well as addressing affordability, this investment has served to improve accessibility, availability and the quality of provision.
The ECCE programme, which provides two years of pre-school without charge, enjoys participation rates of 96% each year. Over 70% of families on low income report that they would not be able to send their child to pre-school without this programme.
The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) complements the ECCE programme, providing subsidies – both universal and targeted - to reduce the costs to parents for children to participate in early learning and childcare.
The minimum NCS subsidy has steadily risen from €0.50 in 2022 to €2.14 per hour in September 2024 alongside extensions to eligibility. Additionally, families using a childminder can now avail of an NCS subsidy towards their childcare costs.
Record numbers of children and their families are now benefiting from the NCS. Almost 220,000 unique children benefited from an NCS subsidy in 2024.
With public funding exceeding €1.37 billion this year, this funding is supporting the full year costs of the significant National Childcare Scheme subsidy increases for parents introduced last September. It also ensures the continued expansion of the numbers of children supported under the National Childcare Scheme, ECCE and AIM. Added to that, it ensures the continued roll-out and expansion of Core Funding and Equal Start, with new funding to support improved pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners. It will also deliver an additional nutrition programme to early learning and childcare settings operating in the context of concentrated disadvantage.
This year, my Department will begin an evaluation of the NCS to examine how the Scheme currently operates, it's impact and determine potential enhancements to the Scheme.
There are also commitments in the new Programme for Government to review and increase Core Funding, ensure that providers’ fees are open, transparent and equitable and readily available to parents and to maintaining the fee cap as well as a commitment for the Supply Management Unit in my Department to be resourced and transformed into a Forward Planning and Delivery Unit to identify areas of need, forecast demand, and deliver public supply within the childcare sector where required.
This Unit is developing a forward planning model to assist in identifying where unmet need/demand and areas of low supply exist. The model will seek to identify the nature and volume of different types of early learning and childcare places across the country and how that aligns with the numbers of children in the corresponding age cohorts at local area level. This model will be central to my Department's plans to achieve the policy goals set out in the Programme for Government to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood learning and cihldcare system, with State-led facilities adding capacity.
This Unit is also responsible for public capital investment in the sector. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme was launched on the 4th of November 2024. Applications for this scheme have now closed and an appraisal process has begun. The primary focus of the Extension Grant Scheme is to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care. Appraisal of applications for this scheme will consider the supply and demand in the area around the proposed projects and seeks to prioritise funding for areas with the biggest supply/demand mismatch. €25m will be made available this year to deliver additional capacity under the Scheme and I expect to announce the outcome of the application process in the coming weeks.
407. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of copper communication lines within her Department currently in active operation and for which her Department is paying for on a monthly basis inclusive of ISDN, PTSN and copper-based lease lines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12980/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) has no copper based lines operating as part of its government networks infrastructure and has no bills associated with copper based lines on its government networks infrastructure.
408. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if a firm (details supplied) is going to use a property to accommodate and care for unaccompanied minors. [13018/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraStatutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
409. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the recourse available to a person who has been partially declined payment under the mother and baby institutions payment scheme redress due to records of their time at qualifying institutions being incomplete; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13020/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra410. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will review the mother and baby institutions payment scheme reward to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13021/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 409 and 410 together.
While I try to be helpful at all times in the parliamentary process, the Deputy will be aware that I cannot be involved in individual cases and cannot comment on same.
The legislation underpinning the Payment Scheme - the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 - specifically provides for the explicit independence of the Chief Deciding Officer in administering the application process and making decisions on applications. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for me to engage in the process in relation to the status of individual applications. That said, I will try to be helpful in general terms.
As part of the Scheme, if an applicant is dissatisfied with a decision on their application, they first may request a review. Requesting a review is a very straightforward process for the applicant but it rightly triggers a very comprehensive assessment of all aspects of the application with the Payment Scheme Office. Ultimately a detailed report is prepared, followed by a thorough quality-check process before it is provided, together with the decision, to the applicant.
Furthermore, if an applicant is dissatisfied with the decision on their review, they may then request an appeal.
In addition to a range of applicant supports such as a help-line (01 522 9992), public representatives can contact the Payment Scheme Office via a dedicated email address, paymentschemereps@equality.gov.ie, if they are assisting constituents in relation to the Scheme.
In both these cases, I would advise the applicants to request a review of their applications.
411. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the age of eligibility for children starting the ECCE scheme can be reviewed (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13026/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe current lower age range for ECCE eligibility was set based on a number of considerations. Firstly, the ECCE programme is a pre-school programme based on the National Practice Frameworks - Aistear and Síolta. 2 years and 8 months is considered the youngest age where a child has the capacity for this programme.
Additionally, the lower age range was set based on Tusla regulations for minimum adult to child ratios for children in early learning and childcare settings. These regulations take account of the needs and developmental stages of children such as toilet training and sleeping arrangements. The review of the ECCE Programme found that the younger age range in pre-school might struggle with the ratios which is commonly 2 adults to 22 children in ECCE rooms.
It should also be noted that regardless of birth date, all children have the same entitlement of 2 years of ECCE.
An independent review of the ECCE Programme was completed last year with the final report published last October. This review examined how the Programme is currently functioning and identified enhancements that could be made based on comprehensive stakeholder engagement with children, parents, ECCE providers and educators. The current ECCE eligibility criteria were examined as part of this review.
412. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will consider a second lower age eligibility criteria for children starting the ECCE scheme to prevent families from missing out on a full-year of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13027/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe current lower age range for ECCE eligibility was set based on a number of considerations. Firstly, the ECCE programme is a pre-school programme based on the National Practice Frameworks - Aistear and Síolta. 2 years and 8 months is considered the youngest age where a child has the capacity for this programme.Additionally, the lower age range was set based on Tusla regulations for minimum adult to child ratios for children in early learning and childcare settings. These regulations take account of the needs and developmental stages of children such as toilet training and sleeping arrangements. The review of the ECCE Programme found that the younger age range in pre-school might struggle with the ratios which is commonly 2 adults to 22 children in ECCE rooms.It should also be noted that the current arrangements also ensure that all children have the same entitlement of 2 years of ECCE regardless of their birth date whereas with previous arrangements this was not always the case.
An independent review of the ECCE Programme was completed last year with the final report published last October. This review examined how the Programme is currently functioning and identified enhancements that could be made based on comprehensive stakeholder engagement with children, parents, ECCE providers and educators. The current ECCE eligibility criteria were examined as part of this review.
413. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when she intends to evaluate the eligibility of the ECCE programme, as outlined in the Programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13028/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe deputy refers to the Programme for Government 2025, in which, this Government has committed to "Evaluate options to amend the ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) eligibility criteria."
An independent review of the ECCE Programme was completed last year with the final report published in October.
Overall the report indicated the remarkable success of the ECCE programme which has transformed early learning experiences and development opportunities for young children in this country.
Officials in my Department are currently exploring the issue of eligibility on foot of the ECCE review. Any change to the design features of the ECCE programme such as the entry points to the scheme or age requirements require a thorough review of the evidence available and considering of the impact on the children, parents and preschool providers affected by this proposed change.
414. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when she intends to explore making available an extra hour of ECCE each day to families in the second year of preschool, as outlined in the Programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13029/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe deputy refers to the Programme for Government 2025, in which, this Government has committed to "Explore making available an extra hour of ECCE each day in the second year of preschool".
An independent review of the ECCE Programme was completed last year with the final report published in October.
Overall the report indicated the remarkable success of the ECCE programme which has transformed early learning experiences and development opportunities for young children in this country.
The key parameters of the Programme were examined during this review including the number of ECCE hours provided to children.
Officials in my Department are currently considering the finding of that report including those related to ECCE hours. It is important to consider the impact of any changes to ECCE in the context of its potential opportunities impacts and risks for all stakeholders.
415. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if a place will be provided at an ASD unit in Kilkenny city or Jenkinstown or Clara for a person (details supplied) as a matter of urgency; if occupational therapy and speech and language therapy will be arranged for this non-verbal child as a matter of urgency as specified in a report; and if she will expedite a positive response [13034/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis PQ might be more appropriate for my colleagues in the Department of Education.
416. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the supports available to childcare providers looking to open new childcare premises; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13060/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a range of supports for anybody that wishes to set up an early learning and childcare service. Any provider interested in establishing a service can get support from their local County Childcare Committee (CCC). Details of the CCCs can be found on: www.gov.ie/en/publication/52b71-support-for-parents-city-and-county-childcare-committees/?referrer=https://www.gov.ie/childcarecommittees/
The introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding. Core Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare providers towards their operating costs. It is designed to deliver sustainability for providers through increased funding to the sector, paid on a consistent and equitable basis.
This funding, which increased by 11% (to €287 million) in year 2, has increased again by a further 15% in year 3 (to €331 million). It will rise again in year 4 of the scheme - September 2025-August 2024 - to approximately €390 million.
In order to increase provision, the Department of Education has also published Procedures on the use of School Buildings outside of School Hours. This document assists schools in considering applications for use of their facilities. To encourage the greater use of such facilities, the Department of Education has committed to provide schools with a guarantee that any income from after-school use of their facilities will not affect their State grants, capitation fees or any other form of departmental funding. Schools may establish such a service themselves, or may provide premises to a Tusla registered provider to deliver after-school care on the school premises. It is important to note that schools are run by their Board of Management and so the decision on whether or not to facilitate school aged childcare on the premises ultimately lies with the Board of Management.
Another important project that I have initiated is the development of a forward planning model to develop a better understanding of the nature of supply and how it relates to demand and in order to support the delivery of more early learning and childcare places in the parts of the country where they are needed. The model will identify the quantum and volume of different types of early learning and childcare places across the country, whether or not those places are occupied and how that aligns with the numbers of children in the corresponding age cohorts at local area level.
Capital funding has been allocated to the early learning and childcare sector under the revised National Development Plan (NDP). This will enable significant investment in early learning and childcare. Some €89 million has been allocated to my Department between 2023 and 2026. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is being operated in 2025. Under the scheme, applicants must deliver additional full-time capacity for 1-3 year olds.
417. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth her plans to encourage more childcare providers to engage with CORE funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13062/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding.
This funding increased by 11% (to €287 million) in year 2 and by a further 15% in year 3 (to €331 million). This facilitated the following changes from 2 September 2024, which built on the targeted measures that were introduced in the second year of the scheme to support smaller and sessional only services:
• The base rates for all age groups increased with larger increases in funding for places offered to children under the age of three.
• The flat rate for services registered on the Tusla Early Years Register as sessional-only (a pre-school service offering a programme for a total of not more than 3.5 hours per session) increased from €4,075 to €5,000. This strengthens supports to sessional-only services, who typically operate for shorter hours per week and fewer weeks per year.
• The minimum base rate allocation increased from €8,150 to €14,000. This is the minimum amount of funding a centre-based service (not childminders) has received through their base rate and ensures a minimum guaranteed income for services. This increase supports smaller services and services operating in rural areas, who may be prone to fluctuations in demand.
• The maximum base rate allocation has decreased from €600,000 to €500,000. Services will not receive funding through the base rate beyond this maximum value. Any service receiving more than this maximum value will see their base rate funding reduce to this level.
Moreover, as part of the progressive development of the fee management system under Core Funding, the Department introduced new developments to fee management in year 3 of Core Funding.
While the fee freeze remains in place for a majority of services for year 3 of the scheme, in light of concerns about the fee freeze raised by some providers charging low fees, a fee increase assessment process was introduced, whereby services with fees below the average in their county could apply to increase their fees up to an approved level by the Department.
In addition to the fee increase assessment process, a fee cap was also introduced for services joining Core Funding for the first time - creating a maximum price that can be charged for early learning and childcare, thereby bringing the highest fees charged down. This fee cap will be extended to all services from September 2025.
Core Funding is a successful scheme with a high uptake rate among providers. Currently 93% or more than 4,400, providers having signed up for Core Funding in year 3.
Further increases for year four of the Scheme, announced in Budget 2025, will see the total allocation increase to over €390 million.
In addition to this, there are wider financial supports available from my Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, which can be accessed while remaining within Core Funding.
418. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of childcare providers that removed themselves from CORE funding in 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13063/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraCurrently 93% or more than 4,400, providers having signed up for Core Funding in year 3.
There were a total of 11 services around the country who withdrew from the Core Funding scheme in 2024.
It is a matter for providers to decide whether they wish to withdraw from the Core Funding scheme, the significant financial supports it provides to providers and the certainty it provides to parents through the associated fee management measures. However, I am confident that given the level of investment and associated supports, services should not need to take this step.
The Agreement for the provision of Core Funding in Programme year 3 (2024/2025) states that services must give 3 months’ notice of their intention to withdraw to the scheme administrator, and 3 months' written notice to parents/guardians.
While a provider withdraws from Core Funding, they remain eligible in this programme year to provide the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme and the Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP) Saver programme.
I do not want any service to be faced with financial sustainability issues and officials in my Department are committed to working with any such service to support them in delivering early learning and childcare for the public good.
As such, in addition to the increased levels of Core Funding since the scheme was introduced, there are wider financial supports available from my Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, which can be accessed while remaining within Core Funding.
I encourage services to avail of these supports as an alternative to withdrawing from Core Funding and removing the benefits of this Scheme to parents.
419. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth her plans to improve access to childcare in Dublin Fingal west; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13086/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraImproving 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. An annual sector profile demonstrates an 8% increase in enrolments between 2021/22 and 2022/23. Core Funding application data shows that between Year 1 and Year 2 of the scheme, annual place hours increased by almost 8%. The Tusla register of services demonstrates a net increase in the numbers of registered early learning and childcare services in 2024. However, it appears that demand for Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare remains higher than available supply, particularly for younger children and in certain parts of the country.
Demand for early learning and childcare beyond sessional pre-school provision is highly elastic and shaped very substantially by families' individual composition, circumstances, and preferences; employment patterns and income; and the price and availability of services.
Last year, a Supply Management Unit within the Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Division was established, and the Programme for Government articulates an intention that the unit be resourced and transformed into a Forward Planning and Delivery Unit to identify areas of need, forecast demand, and deliver public supply within the childcare sector where required.
A forward planning model is in development which will be central to my Department's plans to achieve the policy goals set out in the Programme for Government to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system, with State-led facilities adding capacity.
My 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 third programme year, funds services based on the number of places available, whether or not they are filled.
This provides stability to services, and reduces the risk associated with opening a new service or expanding an already existing service. For the current programme year, the allocation for Core Funding allows for a 6% increase in capacity. Additional funding was secured in Budget 2025 to facilitate a further 3.5% increase from September 2025, in the fourth programme year.
The Government is also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme was launched on the 4th of November 2024. Applications for this scheme have now closed and an appraisal process has begun. The primary focus of the Extension Grant Scheme is to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care.
Appraisal of applications for this scheme will consider the supply and demand in the area around the proposed projects and seeks to prioritise funding for areas with the biggest supply/demand mismatch. €25m will be made available this year to deliver additional capacity under the Scheme and I expect to announce the outcome of the application process in the coming weeks.
My Department funds 30 City/County Childcare Committees, which provide support and assist families and early learning and childcare providers. The network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees across the country can assist in identifying vacant places in services for children and families who need them and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance. Contact details for the Fingal County Childcare Committee may be found at fingalcountychildcare.ie
420. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress that has been made to develop a public model of childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13087/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government marks a significant shift in the policy direction in relation to public delivery of early learning and childcare. There is a commitment for the first time to public provision and to capital investment to build or purchase State-owned facilities.
These commitments accompany other ambitious actions to significantly reduce out-of-pocket fees paid by parents, as well as increasing availability of places and improving pay and conditions for staff. This will enhance parental choice through ongoing support for public, private and community provision, as well as childminders.
Considerable reform has been implemented in the sector in recent years through increased public management and public funding. This has improved affordability, supported improved staff pay, and provided universal and targeted supports in the sector. A strong foundation has been put in place over the last five years, particularly through the introduction of new funding through the National Childcare Scheme and Core Funding, on which to build the next phase of reform in the early learning and childcare sector.
The framework for reform of the sector is set out in Partnership for the Public Good, the 2021 report of an Expert Group which was established to develop a new funding model for the sector.
The key theme of the recommendations in the report was to strengthen State involvement and enhanced public management in the sector, in conjunction with increased State funding.
The introduction of the new Core Funding scheme and its associated conditionality including in relation to staff pay and fee management; developments to the National Childcare Scheme and the Access and Inclusion Model; and the establishment of Equal Start this year represent the implementation of several of the specific recommendations in the report.
The sector is now predominantly publicly funded with necessary and appropriate conditionality attached to that funding, constituting certain features of a public model. As greater levels of public funding are anticipated to be invested in the coming years, public management will also increase commensurately.
These reforms also establish a strong basis for an element of the sector that is directly publicly delivered. In particular, the introduction of Core Funding less than three years ago has allowed for much more detailed insights into the operations and finances of early learning and childcare services which provides a necessary foundation for considering how public delivery could and should operate.
Some early scoping work has been carried out to explore options to introduce a segment of public provision. This will require much more detailed and extensive policy development and design in order progress to implementation stage, having regard to the wider policy emerging policy context as set out in the Programme for Government.
There are different understandings of what public provision means to stakeholders in the sector. Issues relating to staff employment, pay and conditions; ownership and management of buildings; operating models; governance arrangements; service offering; appropriate level of supply of services; fees for parents; and the overall funding model are being examined by officials.
421. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the accommodation recognition payment continuing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13088/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Accommodation Recognition Payment scheme is currently in place until 31 March 2025. However, the scheme may be extended by Ministerial order, subject to Oireachtas approval.
In making an order to extend the scheme, I am required under the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Act of 2022) to have regard to the need to continue to make provision for a financial contribution to assist in increasing the availability of accommodation for temporary protection beneficiaries.
This scheme is an important instrument of public policy that has supported my Department in meeting the accommodation needs of those fleeing the war. It has also diverted thousands of beneficiaries away from State-contracted accommodation.
Section 4(2) of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 enables me to make such change to a date considered appropriate, following consultation with the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. I can confirm that I have undertaken those consultations.
The Act of 2022 also requires, where such an order is proposed to be made, that a draft of the order be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and that the order shall not be made until a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each House of the Oireachtas. I wish to confirm a draft order to extend the scheme has been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and will shortly be considered in each House.
