Written Answers Nos. 975-994
977. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the number of childcare centres that have withdrawn from the core-funding model for each year since it was initiated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34683/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware that a small number of childcare services have regrettably chosen to withdraw from Core Funding.
In the interest of clarity, transparency and consistent reporting, I have defined a service that left Core Funding as any service that had a gap between contracts for Core Funding of 4 or more weeks. There are a number of reasons that a service might fall into this definition. For example, a service could have withdrawn from the scheme, been removed from the scheme for breach of rules, or experienced a delay in re-contracting following a change of circumstance application or between programme years. Many services have left and later re-joined the scheme. There may be a small number of services who left the scheme and subsequently closed at a later date and are not captured in the figures below.
The table below provides a breakdown of engagement with Core Funding in each programme year. Some services may have left and rejoined multiple times across the three years, and therefore the figures cannot be summed across programme years from the breakdown below. It should be noted that not all of the currently operating services will have been in existence for all programme years, and not all services that had operated in previous years will be currently operating.
|
Year 1 (2022/2023) |
Year 2 (2023/2024) |
Year 3 (2024/2025) |
Year 4 (2025/2026) |
|
|
Continued Participation |
3,728 |
3,863 |
4,199 |
4,570 |
|
Left and later returned |
162 |
202 |
106 |
2 |
|
Left and remained out |
13 |
94 |
68 |
1 |
|
Did not participate |
1,132 |
876 |
662 |
462 |
As of 3 November 2025, there were 5,035 services listed as being open on the Early Years Platform, of which 177 (4%) had left Core Funding at one point over the lifetime of the scheme to this date and continue to operate outside of this scheme. A further 415 services (8%) had left Core Funding at one point over the lifetime of the scheme to this date but later rejoined and were signed up to the fourth year of the scheme on this date. The overwhelming majority of services, 4,157 or 83%, have continued to participate in Core Funding from the date on which they first signed up for the scheme.
It should be noted that of the 592 services that have left the scheme at one point, some 415 services were contracted to Core Funding as of 3 November 2025 - meaning over 70% of services who left the scheme at one point have now returned to Core Funding.
Uptake of Core Funding remains strong. As of 4 May 2026, there were 4,633 services signed up to the fourth year of Core Funding which represents 93% uptake by eligible services. This is the highest number of Partner Services in Core Funding at any point since the scheme was launched in 2022 and the number continues to grow.
I am encouraged by this rate of participation: it shows the vast majority of families will continue to benefit from the scheme’s fee management conditions.
I trust this information is of assistance.
978. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the mediation mechanisms in place for childcare providers that are considering withdrawing from the core funding model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34684/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware that a small number of providers are regrettably considering withdrawing from the Core Funding scheme.
If a Partner Services wishes to withdraw from the Core Funding Programme, they must provide 3 months’ notice to the Scheme Administrator. This must be done by submitting a Service Request on the Early Years Early Years Hive outlining the withdrawal date and the reason for the withdrawal.
Services may choose to leave the scheme mid-year with reasons stated as being denied a fee increase, temporary closures, financial difficulties, administrative requirements and personal reasons such as retirement. Many services have left and 70% have later re-joined the scheme.
The Department, through the local Childcare Committees, engages directly with any such service to highlight the benefits of staying in Core Funding, not only for their services but also for the families who avail of them. I am hopeful that the providers may reconsider their decision.
As Core Funding is an optional scheme, providers have the autonomy to withdraw from or choose not to participate in the scheme.
While the State cannot mandate providers to participate in the scheme, Core Funding has been designed with maximum participation of providers in mind as reflected in the year-on-year growth of investment in the Scheme (rising from €259 million in year 1 to over €390 million in year 4). This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years.
I was also 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 over €480 million. That is an additional €89.3 million on the current full year allocation, or a 23% increase.
The increased allocation will support capacity growth across the sector, adherence to fee management conditions, and improvements in staff pay and sustainability.
In addition to this increased allocation, being 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 the Department.
Participation in Core Funding is optional, but it remains open to all Tulsa registered providers, subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the Core Funding Agreement.
It is a matter for providers to decide whether they wish to sign up to Core Funding and benefit from the significant financial supports it offers to providers and the certainty it gives to parents through the associated fee management measures.
There are also wider financial supports available from the Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, which can be accessed through their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) while remaining within Core Funding.
Once a service engages with their local CCC they will be able to avail of sustainability supports through the case management process.
As part of the Case Management process, CCCs assist services with issues and difficulties that arise. This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, financial support, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.
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.
I would encourage any service experiencing financial difficulty and who would like support to contact their CCC to access case management supports. Contact details for the CCCs can be found at [City and County Childcare Committees].
979. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the core funding model for childcare is under review to reflect the number of childcare centres withdrawing from the model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34685/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince Core Funding was introduced, its effectiveness has been subject to ongoing review and the scheme itself has evolved year on year.
An evaluation of the first year of Core Funding and the development of an evaluation framework for Core Funding is currently underway. This project will examine the early implementation of the scheme and make recommendations for future evaluations of the grant. Findings from the project are expected in the coming months.
Importantly, this review will provide a robust mechanism that will allow the Department, on an ongoing basis, to conduct more robust assessments of the efficacy and efficiency of Core Funding. It will set out an evaluation framework for Core Funding so that subsequent medium and long-term evaluations can ensure the scheme is meeting its intended objectives and that it is an efficient use of exchequer funding.
This project is being undertaken by Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service or IGEES policy analysts working in the Research and Evaluation Unit of my Department.
IGEES is an integrated cross-government service established in 2012 with the objective of enhancing the role of economics and value for money analysis in public policy making. It is part of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery, and Reform.
It is envisaged that the future evaluations will have a broader scope and will be governed by a Steering Group. The terms of reference for future evaluations will be informed by the recommendations arising from the evaluation of the first year of the grant.
The annual changes to the allocation model and in the conditions attached to the funding has ensured the Scheme remains responsive, balancing the needs of providers while seeking also to meet a range of other objectives. Among these objectives is eesuring taxpayers’ money is being used in a way that sustains services while not excessively increasing their private profit.
As of 3 November 2025, there were 5,035 services listed as being open on the Early Years Platform, of which 177 (4%) had left Core Funding at one point over the lifetime of the scheme to this date and continue to operate outside of this scheme. A further 415 services (8%) had left Core Funding at one point over the lifetime of the scheme to this date but later rejoined and were signed up to fourth year of the scheme on this date.
The overwhelming majority of services, 4,157 or 83%, have continued to participate in Core Funding from the date on which they first signed up for the scheme.
It should be noted that of the 592 services that have left the scheme at one point, some 415 services were contracted to Core Funding as of 3 November 2025 – meaning over 70% of services who left the scheme at one point have now returned to Core Funding.
Uptake of Core Funding remains strong. As of 4 May 2026, there were 4,633 services signed up to the fourth year of Core Funding which represents 93% uptake by eligible services. This is the highest number of Partner Services in Core Funding at any point since the scheme was launched in 2022 and the number continues to grow.
I am encouraged by this rate of participation: it shows the vast majority of families will continue to benefit from the scheme’s fee management conditions.
980. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any mechanism in place that seeks to bring childcare facilities that have left the core funding model back into this scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34686/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra981. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any mechanism in place that seeks to bring childcare facilities that have never signed up to the core funding model into this scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34687/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 980 and 981 together.
Core Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare providers towards their operating costs. It is designed to promote affordability for parents and sustainability for providers through increased funding to the sector, paid on a consistent and equitable basis.
As Core Funding is an optional scheme, service providers have the autonomy and business freedom to withdraw from or choose not to participated in Core Funding, even though this will result in the loss of the significant financial support it offers them and the substantial benefits and certainty it brings to families.
While 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.
When first introduced in 2022, Core Funding brought a significant increase in investment for the sector with an annual allocation of €259 million. That annual allocation has increased each year since and will exceed €390 million for year 4 of the Scheme, starting from September. This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years.
I was delighted to announce further investment in Core Funding in Budget 2026. The additional funding being made available will see the allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year from September 2026 increase to over €480 million. That is an additional €89.3 million on the current full year allocation, or a 23% increase.
The Department has also made changes to improve the sustainability of providers through, for examples, targeted measures for small and sessional services, a fee increase assessment and approval process for services with fees frozen at unsustainably low rates. There are also wider financial supports from the Department for services experiencing financial difficulty.
As recommended by the Expert Group in their report Partnership for the Public Good, the benefits to early learning and childcare providers of participating in Core Funding extends beyond the funding offered through the scheme itself. Being a Partner Service unlocks additional supports available for services to access.
There are wider financial supports available from DCDE where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability. These supports can be accessed by any Core Funding Partner Service by contacting their local County/City Childcare Committee and requesting Case Management support.
Participation in Core Funding also unlocks access to enhanced support for services caring for concentrated numbers of children facing disadvantage. Equal Start is a funding model and set of associated universal and targeted measures to support access and meaningful participation in early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) for children and their families who experience disadvantage.
Partner Services also have access to Building Blocks capital grants. This grant has two strands, an Expansion scheme and an Extension scheme to support existing services to increase capacity.
Participation in Core Funding is optional, but it remains open to all Tulsa registered providers, subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the Core Funding Agreement. It is a matter for providers to decide whether they wish to sign up to Core Funding and benefit from the significant financial supports it offers to providers and the certainty it gives to parents through the associated fee management measures.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance. For information, the Department has a list of all Core Funding Partner Services which is updated regularly on the Departments website under How to Find a Partner Service.
982. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide a list of all capital projects, including early years, childcare and disability infrastructure projects, delivered under the remit of her Department, and bodies under its aegis, which have been completed on time and within budget in Cork North-West in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34726/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy on this matter as soon as possible.
983. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on increasing respite for parents of a person (details supplied) with a view securing a supported residential placement following a transition period. [34754/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
984. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of single-occupancy residential placements for people with an intellectual disability, neurodevelopmental condition or acquired brain injury provided by the HSE, Section 38 organisations, Section 39 organisations and private for-profit companies in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, broken down by provider type and health region, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34781/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to thank the Deputy for raising this question. As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
985. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total cost per annum of single-occupancy residential placements for people with an intellectual disability, neurodevelopmental condition or acquired brain injury provided by the HSE, Section 38 organisations, Section 39 organisations and private for-profit companies in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, broken down by provider type and health region, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34782/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to thank the Deputy for raising this question. As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
986. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the procedures and inter agency protocols in place between Tusla, the Department of Education and Youth and school authorities in circumstances where allegations of abuse in a school setting (details supplied) have been assessed by Tusla as founded; the safeguards in place to ensure relevant child protection concerns are appropriately communicated to bodies with responsibility for school oversight and safeguarding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34793/26]
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.
987. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to consider the purchase of a building in Kilcock, County Kildare (details supplied) under the new €135 million programme of State-led early learning and childcare services; if she will provide a schedule of sites that she has already purchased and/or leased under the scheme to date and if she will indicate whether lease or purchase option has been utilised. [34817/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraA new State-led capital programme is set to commence in 2026 to help improve levels of supply. The programme will make available €135 million over the coming five years for investment in buildings to enable the delivery of State-led early learning and childcare services.
The Department is assessing project options in order to identify which are best placed to deliver on the goals of the programme. Up to eight capital projects will be selected under the programme in 2026. No final decisions have yet been made on the specific projects, but I look forward to sharing details of projects as they are agreed.
There will be a particular focus in the new State-led facilities on providing places for 1-3 year old children, with capacity for these children to continue in the service until they start school, because this is where the need is greatest. The aim of delivering additional supply of this type in suitable locations will include both rural areas and urban areas which are not well served at the moment.
A suite of appraisal tools have been developed, including a forward planning model, in order to select projects that align with programme objectives
Local City and County Childcare Committees are supporting the development of projects in the State-led early learning and childcare programme so in the first instance, community early learning and childcare operators, local authorities, developers, or others who might have a suitable premises or project should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee, whose details can be found [here] and submit the details of the project for consideration.
988. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide figures for the funding allocated to a person (details supplied) in 2025 and for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34824/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to thank the Deputy for raising this question. As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
989. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an update on the development of child and youth impact assessments, including the pilot planned for her Department during the second half of 2025, a timeline for adoption across all Government departments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34833/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Children, Disability and Equality has developed a Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) Toolkit which will support policy makers and officials to conduct impact assessments on policies, legislation, and other measures which will or could impact the lives of children, before and while they are being developed.
The purpose of a CRIA is to make sure that an assessment of the impact on children’s rights is a core part of developing policy, legislation and in decision-making processes. The CRIA will highlight important opportunities to progress children’s rights and set out actions to safeguard against possible negative impacts on children’s rights.
The ambition is that any new measure being developed within Government Departments and Agencies will be the subject of a CRIA screening process.
A pilot programme ran from July 2025 to January 2026 with the aim of testing the draft CRIA Toolkit. The pilot involved officials across different Government Departments and Agencies who conducted their own CRIAs on policies and services specific to their remit.
Feedback was received from stakeholder groups that greater clarity was needed on the distinction between children and young people, the CRIA now explicitly focuses on and primarily references ‘children’ (under 18s) and ‘children’s rights’, while acknowledging the potential for young adults up to the age of 24 to require additional supports as they transition to adulthood. The 'Child rights and youth impact assessment (CRYIA)' has been renamed the 'Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA).
Additional input is now being sought from officials in targeted areas, including through dedicated workshops.
Feedback from these consultative processes is being reviewed and incorporated into the revised CRIA Toolkit and CRIA implementation process, which are expected to be finalised, approved, and rolled out across Government Departments and Agencies in late 2026/early 2027.
990. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she considers it fair or reasonable that under the current Core Funding banding system, a childcare service falling marginally into a higher band (for example, by a matter of minutes) results in parents being charged significantly higher weekly fees, despite no additional childcare being provided; and if she will review the banding thresholds to address such anomalous outcomes. [34941/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra991. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide a direct response on whether she believes it is equitable that families can face substantial additional costs (in excess of €50 per week) due solely to an arbitrary banding cut off in contracted hours, rather than actual childcare provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34942/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra992. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers currently classified within each Core Funding band; the number of families impacted by band threshold differences; and whether her Department has conducted any assessment of the financial impact on families whose childcare hours fall just above a band cutoff. [34943/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra993. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any review has been undertaken of the Core Funding banding system to identify potential cliff-edge effects at band thresholds; and if she will consider introducing a tapered or pro-rata system to prevent significant cost increases arising from minimal differences in hours. [34944/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra994. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has examined cases where a difference of minutes in weekly childcare hours results in substantially higher fees (for example, approximately €59 per week), amounting to over €1,000 annually for families; and whether she considers this an unintended flaw in the scheme design. [34945/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra995. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she considers the outcome whereby parents are charged significantly more due to marginal differences in contracted childcare hours to be fair; and to outline any steps she will take to address such issues. [34946/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 990, 991, 992, 993, 994 and 995 together.
The Department is fully committed to promoting affordability for parents through Core Funding. This is achieved through the Core Funding fee management system, which includes fee caps and a freeze on the majority of fees at September 2021 levels.
The fee caps are underpinned by the Common Fee Structure, which provides a framework through which weekly hours of provision are categorised into six Fee Bands A-F. This framework was placed on the fees that already existed in the sector, the Common Fee Structure does not create fees, instead it sets thresholds for maximum fee caps to support the reduction in the highest fees. The hours per week and associated maximum fee at each Fee Band refer to the care purchased by a parent for their child on a weekly basis. Therefore, the fees charged to a parent should be based on the hours that were agreed between the parent and the service. As private businesses, Partner Services can choose the types of care that they offer to parents provided that they do not breach the fee cap or other Scheme rules.
The maximum fee cap values in each Fee Band are stepped down on a pro-rata basis in increments of €59, meaning there is a maximum amount a service can charge at each Fee Band, from €59 at Band A (less than 10 hours per week) up to €354 at Band F (50 hours or more per week).
Fee caps were introduced for the first time in September 2024 in relation to First-Time Partner Services, meaning services joining Core Funding for the first time in programme year 2024/2025. These initial set of fee caps applied to a relatively small cohort, with the maximum fees set in increments of €65 from Band A up to €390 in Band F.
These pro-rated incremental fee caps are designed to ensure a balance between costs to parents and viability for Core Funding Partner Services.
|
Fee Band |
Hours per week |
Maximum weekly fee for First Time Partner Services in 2024/2025 |
Maximum weekly fee for ALL Partner Services in 2025/2026 |
% Decrease in maximum weekly fees 24/25-25/26 |
|
Band A |
Less than 10 hours |
€65 |
€59 |
10% |
|
Band B |
Between 10 hours and 19 hours 59 minutes |
€130 |
€118 |
10% |
|
Band C |
Between 20 hours and 29 hours 59 minutes |
€195 |
€177 |
10% |
|
Band D |
Between 30 hours and 39 hours 59 minutes |
€260 |
€236 |
10% |
|
Band E |
Between 40 hours and 49 hours 59 minutes |
€325 |
€295 |
10% |
|
Band F |
50 or more hours |
€390 |
€354 |
10% |
The Department is aware of some threshold cases where weekly hours of care extend into a higher Fee Band at the lower end, raising the maximum allowable fee for those weekly hours. However, existing fees cannot be increased within a fee band without a proportional increase in the weekly hours of care.
In initial public communications, the fee cap of €295 at Band E (40 hours up to 49 hours 59 minutes per week) was used as the reference point as this is the most common type of full day care place. This average full day place falls into the middle of Band E, thus a service charging for exactly 50 hours of service is providing approximately 5.5 hours of service more than the average at Band E.
The Department does not yet hold data relating to costs borne by families purchasing care in specific Fee Bands.
The fee caps on all Partner Services which came into effect in September represent the latest progression in the phased development of the Core Funding fee management system and an important step towards the reduction of fees to €200 per month over the lifetime of this Government. This system is subject to annual review, with further improvements planned for the years ahead.
To support providers in adhering to Core Funding fee management conditions, including reductions in the maximum fee caps in the 2026/2027 programme year, additional funding was secured in Budget 2026. This will guarantee that Core Funding’s monetary protections continue to be passed on to families while ensuring sustainability and stability for the sector.
Full details of Core Funding 2026/27, including new fee management measures, will be made available to the sector in the coming weeks.
These latest Core Funding fee management measures build on a range of supports already in place. The recent publication of Shaping the Future, the Early Years Action Plan Phase 1 Report sets out the next steps for building an affordable, high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare system, informed by stakeholder consultation. This includes the long-term goal of reducing the cost of early learning and childcare further to €200 per month over the lifetime of the Government.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) for assistance. For information, the Department has a list of all Core Funding Partner Services which is updated regularly on the Departments website under How to Find a Partner Service.
