Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 November 2025
915. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers that are in core funding; and of these, and the number of services that are sessional services. [63145/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile the Department cannot mandate providers to participate in the Scheme, every effort has been made to carefully design Core Funding to meet the policy objectives including to achieve high levels of participation by providers.
The fourth programme year of Core Funding began on 1 September. As of 12 November 2025, 4,539 services have signed up to participate in the fourth year of the Scheme. This represents 92% of all eligible services and this number continues to grow.
Of these 4,539 services, 1,448 (32%) providers are sessional only services. A further 1,446 Core Funding Partner Services include sessional services within their overall service offering. In total therefore, some 65% of all Core Funding Partner Services include some component of sessional services within their service offering. Participation in Core Funding is optional, but it remains open throughout the year to all registered providers subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the Scheme.
A list of Core Funding Partner Services is updated regularly on the website, under How to Find a Partner Service www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/how-to-find-a-partner-service/. The NCS childcare search can also be used to identify if a service is a Core Funding Partner Service www.ncs.gov.ie/en/childcare-search/.
