Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 November 2025
920. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will address concerns regarding the escalating cost of childcare, raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63356/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government has committed to reduce monthly fees to €200 over its lifetime. The steps in achieving this ambition over the coming years will be set out in the Action Plan on Accessible, High Quality, Affordable Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, which the Department is continuing to develop. In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, the Action Plan will be informed by a broad consultation process.
While work on developing the Action Plan is ongoing, we are not waiting until its publication to deliver on key commitments in the Programme for Government. The investment of €1.48bn secured in the 2026 budget for early learning and care and school-age childcare will allow the Department to build on recent progress in the gradual reduction of fees for parents, while also supporting supply and the quality of provision.
Budget 2026 enables Core Funding to continue to support fee-control measures and will also allow for growth in the sector. The allocation for Core Funding in 2026 will ensure fees remain at 2021 levels for a majority of providers. As well as this, there will be a new maximum fee cap set to reduce costs for families paying the highest fees across the country. Further details of the new, lower maximum fee caps will be announced in the coming months.
The 2026 allocation for Core Funding will also support implementation of the recently announced Employment Regulation Orders, which led to a 10% increase in the minimum rate of pay for educators from 13 October.
Further steps will be detailed in the Action Plan, which will look at affordability, access and quality of the early learning and care and school-age childcare system.
One of the main vehicles for delivering the Programme for Government’s affordability commitments is the Core Funding scheme. Core Funding is a supply-side payment to early learning and childcare services to support them with their operating costs, and is designed to support affordability, quality, and sustainability in the sector.
A key feature of Core Funding is the introduction of a system of fee management, to ensure that affordability measures and increased investment are passed on to parents/guardians. This began with an effective fee freeze from September 2022. In return for significant funding through the scheme, Partner Services agree not to raise their fees above what was charged to parents as on 30 September 2021. Maximum fee caps were then introduced for new entrants beginning in Year 3 of the Scheme. The maximum fee caps have since been reduced and extended to all new and existing Partner Services in Year 4.
|
Fee Band |
Hours per week |
Maximum weekly fee for ALL Partner Services in 2025/2026 |
|
Band A |
Less than 10 hours |
€59 |
|
Band B |
Between 10 hours and 19 hours 59 minutes |
€118 |
|
Band C |
Between 20 hours and 29 hours 59 minutes |
€177 |
|
Band D |
Between 30 hours and 39 hours 59 minutes |
€236 |
|
Band E |
Between 40 hours and 49 hours 59 minutes |
€295 |
|
Band F |
50 or more hours |
€354 |
In Budget 2026, €20.6 million in brand new funding for a full programme year has been secured to support providers in adhering to the fee management conditions including reductions in the maximum fee caps in the Year 5. This will guarantee that Core Funding’s monetary protections will continue to be passed on to families while ensuring sustainability and stability for the sector.
Work is under way in the Department to design new fee management measures for Year 5. Full details of Core Funding 2026/27 will be made available to the sector in 2026.
Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. However, it appears that demand for early learning and childcare remains higher than available supply in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children.
A forward planning model is in development which will be central to the 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.
As announced in the context of Budget 2026, €36 million will be available in 2026 for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include acquisitions of new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme, investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the Building Blocks scheme and a number of quality initiatives including supports to childminders.
The 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 fourth programme year, funds services based on the number of places available.
Budget 2025 secured funding for the fourth programme year (2025/6) to facilitate a further 3.5% increase from September 2025. Budget 2026 has made provision for the fifth programme year (2026/7) for a further expansion in supply of 4.2%.
The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme was launched in late 2024 with a closing date in January 2025. A total of seventy-eight applications were received with fifty applicants approved to progress to the next stage of the grant process. The scheme will deliver up to 1,500 places from next year.
With reference to your constituent’s query on The National Childcare Scheme (NCS), an evaluation of the Scheme is due to start this year. This evaluation will review how the Scheme has performed to date and identify potential enhancements that could be made to help parents with their childcare costs. The findings from this evaluation will also inform the work of the Department in working towards the Programme for Government commitment to monthly childcare fees over the lifetime of this Government.
