Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
859. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether optimal level of community childcare targets are set; the specific plans to develop more community childcare in each specific county childcare committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36974/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraEarly learning and care and school age childcare is a privately delivered sector with three quarters of operators established on a for-profit basis and one quarter on a not-for-profit basis. While the Department has not made a determination on optimum levels of community services providing early learning and care and school age childcare, it does make distinctions between for-profit and not-for-profit operators in respect of investment of capital funding and I have supported community/not-for-profit services through delivering significant capital investment over the last few years.
I recently announced €135 million of capital investment over the coming five years for State-led services to provide high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare. The process will begin in 2026 with investment in buildings in what will be a ground-breaking initiative.
The Department will work with not-for-profit providers to design and open services, and these providers will run the services. The Department has begun assessing sites/buildings in order to identify which are best placed to deliver on the goals of the programme. Where required, the Department will begin publicising sites and seeking expressions of interest from operators to carry out fit-out and delivery.
The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is operating over 2025 and 2026. There are four strands to the scheme: Community Construction, Community Extension, Community Purchasing and Private Extension. Under the scheme fifty applicants were shortlisted for progression to the next stage of the grant process, which involved the completion of legal formalities. Of the 50 applications which were approved for progression, 43 came from Community services across the country. This represents 86% of all applications approved.
I was pleased to launch the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme Phase 2 last month. The scheme will provide grants for community and private early learning and childcare services who are Core Funding partner services to increase their capacity by means of extensions to their existing premises. Under the scheme, community services can avail of investment of up to €530,000 for projects up to a total value of €680,000. Private services can avail of investment of up to €265,000 for projects up to a total value of €680,000, with a minimum of 50% funding to come from the operator.
In addition to these capital funding schemes, the Department offers Sustainability Funding to community early learning and care and school age childcare services in crisis. In 2018, a Sustainability Funding policy was formalised, and a framework was created which coupled this Sustainability Funding with on-the-ground case management assistance. The purpose of the supports within this framework are to provide emergency funding to community services where a need for funding was identified while also ensuring that the case management performed at a service level identified and resolved underlying issues that may have caused the initial crisis. Sustainability Funding is intended to prevent significant issues that threaten the viability of a service.
The Department encourages all services experiencing difficulties to contact their local City and County Childcare Committee with a request for assistance. Their CCC can advise on a range of issues and can provide assistance in accessing case management supports. Contact details for the CCC can be found online on gov.ie by searching City and County Childcare Committees.
Shaping the Future: The Early Years Action Plan follows through on the Programme for Government commitment to “undertake a broad consultation and publish a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capacity. This plan will enhance parental choice through ongoing support for public, private and community provision, as well as childminders.” The Shaping the Future Phase 1 report notes that analysis and consultation for Phase 2 will be published by the end of this year and will include consideration of the appropriate balance between private, community, State-led and childminding provision.
