Commercial rates payments for early learning and childcare providers do not fall under the remit of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and the Department has no role in determining which properties are rateable.
The making of valuations for rating purposes is the sole responsibility of Tailte Éireann, formerly the Commissioner of Valuation. Tailte Éireann falls under the aegis of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH).
I recently met with my cabinet colleague, Minister Browne, in order to discuss this issue. Additionally, officials in the Department are engaging with their colleagues in DHLGH to seek clarification on the issue of rates for ECCE-only providers and will revert once this clarification is received.
On the issue of funding to the sector to support viability, that is one of the objectives of the Core Funding Scheme.
Core Funding has increased annually, rising from €259 million in year 1 of the scheme to over €390 million for the current and fourth year of the scheme. This is an increase of over 50% since the scheme began in September 2022.
I was delighted to announce further investment in Core Funding in Budget 2026. The additional funding being made available in 2026 will see the allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year which begins in September 2026 increase to €482 million. The allocation model for the Core Funding Scheme 2026/2027 will be informed by a range of data, including data on providers income and expenditure and will be made available to the sector in the coming months.
In addition to the increased level of Core Funding for year 4 of the scheme and in Budget 2026, there are wider financial supports available from the Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, which can be accessed while remaining within Core Funding.
The Department offers Sustainability Funding to services where issue/s have been identified through the Case Management process that have the potential to have serious consequences for their viability. As part of the Case Management process, in which local City or County Childcare Committees (CCCs) assist services with issues and difficulties that arise, the CCC may refer Core Funding Partner Services facing difficulties to Pobal and the Department to be considered for Sustainability Funding.
Sustainability Funding is intended to prevent significant issues that threaten the viability of a service from occurring in first instance, and any service seeking these supports should contact their City or County Childcare Committee.
