Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
1905. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide further details of phase one of the early years action plan; if she will provide specific details regarding how the plan will assist childcare service providers tackle rising and immediate costs and administrative burdens; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74371/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraShaping the Future: the Early Years Action Plan, Phase 1 Report, published in December 2025, sets out the Government’s approach to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) system. Phase 1 sets out specific actions to be undertaken in 2026, working within 2026 budgetary resources.
2026 actions on affordability will include further reduction in some of the highest fees paid by parents by lowering the maximum fees that Core Funding Partner Services can charge. In addition, from autumn 2026 we will reduce fees for lower-income families through the National Childcare Scheme, to ensure that families with incomes below the relative income poverty line receive the maximum subsidies.
Phase 1 actions will include co-funding the expansion of existing providers as well as increasing supply through investment in State-led ELC and SAC services. The allocation for Core Funding will be increased to €482m for programme year 2026-27 (an increase of up to 23%) to support capacity growth in the sector and sustainability of providers, and to support providers to meet the costs of increases in staff minimum wage rates through a possible 2026 round of negotiations for new Employment Regulation Orders.
To enhance the quality of provision, during 2026 - among other actions - comprehensive regulations will be introduced for School-Age Childcare services as part of a wider revision of regulations.
During 2026, work will be undertaken to inform the development of Phase 2 actions, which will be published later in 2026 and which will relate to the period 2027 to 2029. The process of developing Phase 2 actions will include a broad public consultation process, in line with the Programme for Government commitment.
A key vehicle through which the commitments of the Action Plan will be implemented is the Core Funding scheme. Core Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and care (ELC) and/or school-age childcare (SAC) providers towards their operating costs.
Core Funding incorporates funding for administration and to support the employment of graduate staff, replacing the Programme Support Payments and ECCE Higher Capitation, respectively.
In line with actions outlined in the Phase 1 report, Core Funding will increase to over €480 million from September 2026. That is an additional €221 million on the Year 1 allocation for Core Funding, representing an increase of 85% in Core Funding in five years.
The increased funding will facilitate:
• Natural capacity growth of 4.2% across the sector.
• Additional capacity growth created by the new Building Blocks grants.
• Support for providers in adhering to the fee management conditions including the continued fee freeze and reductions to the maximum fee caps in the 2026/2027 programme year.
• Support for improved pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners with implementation of new 2025 Employment Regulation Orders, with further increases in pay to be supported through enhancement in year 5 of the scheme.
The majority of this Core Funding will be distributed to services via the base rate, based on a service's staffed capacity. Core Funding allocations are based on places, not on child registrations and attendance levels. Places do not have to be filled in order to be allocated Core Funding. This provides services with a guaranteed minimum income, supporting stability where attendance may be fluctuating. Core Funding base rates include contributions towards the cost of delivery of service provision such as: staff pay and conditions (including contact and non-contact time, holiday pay, sick pay and other employer costs such as pension contributions); administrative staff/time, and non-staff overhead costs. These components have been factored into the calculation of the budget for Core Funding since the scheme began in 2022. Partner Services can choose how to spend their Core Funding grant in accordance with the approved areas of expenditure outlined in the Funding Agreement.
In addition to this increased allocation, participation in Core Funding unlocks additional supports for services to access, including:
• access to wider financial supports where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability;
• access to enhanced support for services caring for concentrated numbers of children facing disadvantage through Equal Start; and
• opportunities to apply for capital grants through this Department.
Simplify and Support will deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to reduce the administrative burden on ELC and SAC providers, as the growth in State investment, in provision, in use and in the number of programmes and schemes have created additional demands on providers, on early years educators, school-age childcare practitioners and on parents.
The Action Plan focuses on eight key objectives:
1. Simplify the programmes and schemes
2. Streamline and align regulatory and compliance requirements
3. Upgrade the digital system and improve user experience
4. Embed ‘Once-only’ data capture
5. Clear, consolidated, accessible guidance
6. Strengthen provider capacity and sector supports
7. Enhance coordination and alignment between agencies
8. Simplify processes and reduce administrative requirements on parents
Key actions include:
• a single application process for supports under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) to replace multiple application processes - for AIM, AIM Plus and AIM non-term
• a single, long-term CHICK under the National Childcare Scheme to replace existing annual CHICKs
• a single set of comprehensive set of regulation to replace existing ELC and SAC regulations
There is also a commitment to upgrade the digital system.
