Written Answers Nos. 850-869
850. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the HSE intends to publish the June 2026 Children's Disability Network Team workforce review in full; whether this will include team-by-team vacancy data; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36867/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
851. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the implementation for the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2025 - 2030. [36882/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Strategy for Women and Girls 2025-2030 was launched on the 18th of November 2025, and sets out a broad range of objectives aimed at reducing inequalities between men and women.
This whole-of-government plan aims to level the playing field for women and girls of all ages and backgrounds by eliminating all forms of discrimination against them, building upon the progress made by its predecessor strategy.
Implementation of the Strategy will be guided by two Action Plans, the first of which is currently in development. This work is led by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, in partnership with the National Women's Council and an interdepartmental committee comprising those Departments and State Agencies that have key roles in the implementation of the Strategy.
A Stakeholder Monitoring Committee was convened in April 2026 to monitor the implementation of the Strategy. This Committee consists of members drawn from stakeholder organisations to provide specialist skills, knowledge and experience.
The first Action Plan is at advanced draft stage, and is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.
852. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a formal review of the operation of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme is scheduled; and if so, the timeframe for this review. [36967/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra853. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether institutions (details supplied) will be considered for inclusion in the mother and baby institutions payment scheme as part of any forthcoming review of the scheme. [36968/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra854. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide details of any judgments, findings, or official assessments relating to institutions (details supplied) and the rationale for their exclusion from the scheme to date. [36969/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra855. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether all available documentation and survivor testimonies relating to institutions (details supplied) are being examined as part of any review of the operation of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. [36970/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra856. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the 180-day residency requirement under the mother and baby institutions payment scheme will be examined as part of any review of the scheme. [36971/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra857. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration is being given, within any review of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme to waiving or introducing flexibility into the 180-day threshold, particularly in cases where individuals narrowly fall below the requirement but experienced comparable hardship. [36972/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra890. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if institutions (details supplied) will be included into the redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes. [37120/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 852, 853, 854, 855, 856, 857 and 890 together.
The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme opened for applications in March 2024. The underpinning legislation for the Payment Scheme provides for a number of reports and reviews to be produced. Section 48 of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 provides for two reviews of the operation of the Scheme, the first of which must commence within 6 months of the second anniversary of its establishment, i.e. by September 2026.
The scope of the review is prescribed in the Act. It is focused on administrative and operational delivery aspects of the Scheme. It will consider issues such as the level of uptake of the Scheme, the experience of applicants, the extent to which payments have been made and if the Scheme is achieving its purpose. I may also direct that it consider any other matter relevant to the administration of the Scheme. The legislation does not provide for the scope of the Scheme to be reviewed, so the questions raised by the deputies will not be addressed in the review. Extending the scope of the Scheme in the ways suggested would be a matter for the Oireachtas, but I can provide here the reasoning behind the eligibility decisions decided at the time of enactment by the Oireachtas.
While the review has not yet commenced, the preparatory work for it is already well underway.
The Department of Children is responsible for overseeing the administration of the Scheme. It must do this in line with the legislative scope and intent of the Act, as enacted by the Oireachtas.
The Scheme, like any such scheme, has eligibility criteria, including what institutions are included in it and time spent there. In the latter regard, the Scheme acknowledges circumstances experienced while resident in a Mother and Baby institution and the associated conditions, shame and stigma endured over a period of time. Using time spent as the deciding factor is intended to support a non-adversarial approach which avoids the need for applicants to have to bring forward evidence or prove abuse or harm. This non-adversarial approach ensures that those who spent longer periods of time in these institutions, and endured the harshest conditions, receive the highest level of support.
The six-month eligibility criterion – in place for children - was initially presented in the Commission of Investigation report and was subsequently included in the report of the interdepartmental working group which was asked to scope out the Scheme.
The Payment Scheme provides payments and health benefits to people who spent time in any of the Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions. These were institutions that were identified by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation as having a main function of providing sheltered and supervised ante and post-natal facilities to single mothers and their children. The institutions covered by the Payment Scheme are set out in Schedule 1 to the Act.
Chapter 2 of the Social History section of the Commission of Investigation report - www.gov.ie/en/publication/89e43-chapter-2-institutions/ - details the different types of institutions that existed and whether they could be considered Mother and Baby Institutions. St Clare's is described as an adoption society that is associated with St Joseph's, Stamullen, which is listed as a residential children's home. Temple Hill, Blackrock is referred to as being “frequently wrongly described as a mother and baby home. It was an infants’ nursery and mothers were not resident there. As a hospital, it received funding from the Hospitals Commission.” The institutions at Stamullen and Blackrock did not provide ante and post-natal facilities, and therefore they are not included in the Scheme.
While the Act lists those Mother and Baby Institutions identified by the Commission, section 49 of the Act further provides that, if it were to come to light that an institution, in which the State had a regulatory or inspection function, fulfilled a similar function with regard to single women and their children as those included in the Payment Scheme, the then Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, may insert an additional institution into the Schedule.
The Department defended two recent High Court Judicial Review applications taken under this section of the Act. Both sought the addition of institutions into the Scheme, Temple Hill Children’s Dietetic Hospital in Blackrock and St. Joseph’s Baby Home in Stamullen, Co. Meath.
Whilst the Court judgement does not direct the inclusion of any institution, its guidance in interpreting the criteria for the addition of institutions to the Payment Scheme is broad and unclear, therefore the Office of the Attorney General advised that an appeal of the judgement is necessary. This is to ensure that the Scheme can continue in its current guise and is not rendered so unclear in scope as to become unworkable.
It is acknowledged that some survivors are not eligible for the Scheme and are extremely disappointed by this. It should be noted that the Payment Scheme is just one of a large suite of actions being undertaken to respond to the legacy of these institutions under the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions and the current Programme for Government has underlined continued commitment to its ongoing delivery. Of the seven major commitments set out in the Action Plan, six are now delivered and in place, while the seventh is well underway. Key actions include access to birth information, the services of the Special Advocate and counselling support, all already in place, as well as the ongoing development of a National Centre for Research and Remembrance.
858. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the role the local city and county council's and the community childcare committees have in providing local community childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36973/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department funds 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCC) to act as its local agent in the delivery of the national early learning and childcare programmes and the implementation of Government policy. Instituted in the early 2000s, the CCC were established as the key local component in the development of a co-ordinated approach to quality early learning and childcare and to advance the provision of these facilities in their local areas.
The role of the CCC is to provide support and guidance to providers and parents in their local area in relation to the various early learning and childcare programmes and support quality in keeping with national practice frameworks and policy objectives.
CCC act as local agents for the Department in:
• Supporting families in accessing early learning and childcare services;
• Supporting early learning and childcare services regarding quality of provision, compliance with programme rules and new service providers in their start-up;
• Delivering training and continuing professional development opportunities for providers and their staff;
• Identifying and assisting the Department in resolving supply management issues at a local level;
• Supporting the achievement of the National Action Plan for Childminding at local level and administering the Childminding Development Grants funded by the Department.
While CCC act on behalf of the Department to support providers at a local level, other than Mayo CCC, whom operate under the aegis of Mayo County Council, they have no formal affiliation with their respective local authorities. They are independent, voluntary organisations with a distinct legal identity and board of directors. However, the nature of their role means that they may have some interaction with local authorities when appropriate.
The 2001 Planning Guidelines for Childcare Facilities support local authorities in planning matters related to early learning and childcare buildings, including in certain instances requiring the development of buildings as part of large scale housing developments. Under the 2001 Guidelines, planning authorities should encourage the development of a broad range of early learning and childcare facilities in their Development Plans, and ensure that Development Plans and Local Area Plans include policies in relation to the provision of these facilities. Such policies should include the active promotion of consultation and participation with CCC in the provision and monitoring of a County Childcare Strategy, and updating and developing baseline data on the quality of existing and prospective needs in association with the CCC.
For new developments, the Guidelines set a benchmark provision of one early learning and childcare facility per 75 dwellings. Any modification of this provision should include reference to the results of any needs analysis carried out as part of a county childcare strategy or carried out as part of a local or action area plan or as part of the development plan in consultation with CCC, which will have identified areas either well-served or under-served.
The Programme for Government commits to reviewing these guidelines. To assist in this work, an Early Learning and Childcare Planning Matters Working Group was established in 2024 and has met a number of times since then. It includes officials from the Department; the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage; and the Department of Education and Youth. Members of the Group have also met with local authority planning officials, nominated by the County and City Management Association Planning and Land Use Committee to identify important considerations for the review. These considerations include ensuring that buildings developed on foot of the guidelines meet the needs of the local population and are fit for purpose, and balancing the need to ensure sufficient provision for children and families with ensuring that buildings are effectively operated as intended. These issues will inform a wider engagement with local authorities.
An important step in preparation for revising the Guidelines is to engage with local authorities with experience of applying the current Guidelines to understand their impact and issues arising. The findings of this process will inform the scale and content of revisions to the Guidelines.
In addition, the Department has gathered information from CCC on housing developments granted planning permission since 2017 that have been subject to the 2001 Guidelines, and the position with early learning and care facilities in these developments. This information is based on the Committees local knowledge and insights, and there may not be complete information in all instances. The data is under review with a view to improving the evidence base on the impact of the Guidelines.
I can also advise that the Department of Children, Equality and Disability has been notified by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that it is to be included as a prescribed body in relation to planning applications which may be expected to generate significant additional demand for early learning and childcare.
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.
860. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will mandate that local city and county councils prioritise tenders from community groups over private providers for community childcare in publicly owned facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36975/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra861. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will mandate city and county councils to identify land and premises that would be suitable for community childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36976/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 860 and 861 together.
Local authorities are independent statutory bodies with their own democratically elected councils and management structures. Subject to law, a local authority is independent in the performance of its functions.
As such, I do not have a role in mandating how local authorities manage and make available their assets. However, I would encourage all local authorities to consider how they can best support making affordable, accessible and high-quality early learning and childcare available in their own area.
I recently announced €135 million in capital investment in buildings for high-quality, accessible State-led early learning and childcare. The process will begin in 2026 with investment in buildings in what will be a ground-breaking initiative for this government. Capital funding will be used to acquire and/or fit out the building, depending on requirements.
The Department will work with not-for-profit providers to design and open services, and these providers will run the services.
Engagement with Local Authorities and other public bodies is ongoing to identify potential sites for State-led early learning and childcare which can be appraised to assess alignment with objectives.
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 include consideration of the appropriate balance between private, community, State-led and childminding provision.
862. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the interaction that takes place between county childcare committees and city and county councils to provide community childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36977/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department funds 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCC) to act as its local agent in the delivery of the national early learning and childcare programmes and the implementation of Government policy. Instituted in the early 2000s, the CCC were established as the key local component in the development of a co-ordinated approach to quality early learning and childcare and to advance the provision of these services in their local areas.
The role of the CCC is to provide support and guidance to providers and parents in their local area in relation to the various early learning and childcare programmes and support quality in keeping with national practice frameworks and policy objectives.
CCC act as local agents for the Department in:
• Supporting families in accessing early learning and childcare services;
• Supporting early learning and childcare services regarding quality of provision, compliance with programme rules and new service providers in their start-up;
• Delivering training and continuing professional development opportunities for providers and their staff;
• Identifying and assisting the Department in resolving supply management issues at a local level;
• Supporting the achievement of the National Action Plan for Childminding at local level and administering the Childminding Development Grants funded by the Department.
While CCC act on behalf of the Department to support providers at a local level, other than Mayo CCC, whom operate under the aegis of Mayo County Council, they have no formal affiliation with their respective local authorities. They are independent, voluntary organisations with a distinct legal identity and board of directors. However, the nature of their role means that they may have some interaction with local authorities when appropriate.
The 2001 Planning Guidelines for Childcare Facilities support local authorities in planning matters related to early learning and childcare buildings, including in certain instances requiring the development of buildings as part of large scale housing developments. Under the 2001 Guidelines, planning authorities should encourage the development of a broad range of early learning and childcare facilities in their Development Plans, and ensure that Development Plans and Local Area Plans include policies in relation to the provision of these facilities. Such policies should include the active promotion of consultation and participation with CCC in the provision and monitoring of a County Childcare Strategy, and updating and developing baseline data on the quality of existing and prospective needs in association with the CCC.
For new developments, the Guidelines set a benchmark provision of one early learning and childcare facility per 75 dwellings. Any modification of this provision should include reference to the results of any needs analysis carried out as part of a county childcare strategy or carried out as part of a local or action area plan or as part of the development plan in consultation with CCC, which will have identified areas either well-served or under-served.
The Programme for Government commits to reviewing these guidelines. To assist in this work, an Early Learning and Childcare Planning Matters Working Group was established in 2024 and has met a number of times since then. It includes officials from the Department; the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage; and the Department of Education and Youth. Members of the Group have also met with local authority planning officials, nominated by the County and City Management Association Planning and Land Use Committee to identify important considerations for the review. These considerations include ensuring that buildings developed on foot of the guidelines meet the needs of the local population and are fit for purpose, and balancing the need to ensure sufficient provision for children and families with ensuring that buildings are effectively operated as intended. These issues will inform a wider engagement with local authorities.
An important step in preparation for revising the Guidelines is to engage with local authorities with experience of applying the current Guidelines to understand their impact and issues arising. The findings of this process will inform the scale and content of revisions to the Guidelines.
In addition, the Department has gathered information from CCC on housing developments granted planning permission since 2017 that have been subject to the 2001 Guidelines, and the position with early learning and care facilities in these developments. This information is based on the Committees local knowledge and insights, and there may not be complete information in all instances. The data is under review with a view to improving the evidence base on the impact of the Guidelines.
I can also advise that the Department of Children, Equality and Disability has been notified by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that it is to be included as a prescribed body in relation to planning applications which may be expected to generate significant additional demand for early learning and childcare.
863. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of early years education settings and childcare settings that have pulled out of CORE funding for each Dublin community childcare catchment area, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36978/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Core Funding is an optional scheme, services have the autonomy and business freedom to not participate in or withdraw from 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 the families availing of these services.
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 experiences 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 the services in Dublin that left Core Funding in each programme year by local authority area. 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.
|
COUNTY DIVISION |
Year 1 (2022/2023) |
Year 2 (2023/2024) |
Year 3 (2024/2025) |
Year 4 (2025/2026) |
|
Dublin City |
17 |
56 |
28 |
1 |
|
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown |
8 |
10 |
8 |
2 |
|
Fingal |
7 |
29 |
9 |
0 |
|
South Dublin |
9 |
17 |
8 |
1 |
|
TOTAL |
41 |
112 |
53 |
4 |
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.
As of 11 May 2026, there are 1,188 operating across these Local Authority Areas, 1,021 of whom are in receipt of Core Funding – representing an 85.94% take-up of Core Funding across those areas.
The final 2025/2026 withdrawal figures will be confirmed categorically after the end of the programme year, which concludes in August 2026.
Uptake of Core Funding remains strong. As of 11 May, over 4,630 services have signed up to the fourth year of Core Funding which represents 93% of all eligible services. Programme Year 4 has the highest number of Partner Services contracted for Core Funding since the scheme was launched in 2022.
864. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps she is taking to poverty proof the national childcare scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37000/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra866. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review the eligibility criteria of the national childcare scheme to ensure that children's developmental needs, rather than parental labour market status, are the primary determinant of hours awarded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37002/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 864 and 866 together.
The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides subsidies – both universal and targeted - to reduce the costs to parents for children to participate in early learning and childcare. Facilitating labour market participation is a key objective of the NCS, in addition to improving child outcomes. The Scheme is progressive in nature, ensuring the highest subsidies go to families that need it most. The targeted NCS subsidy supports labour market and education participation of parents by providing an enhanced hours subsidy of 45 hours per week for parents who are engaged in work, study or training. Parents not engaged in work, study or training are entitled to a standard hour subsidy at a maximum of 20 hours per week. This is on top of hours spent in pre-school or school.
The definition of work or study under the scheme is broad, covering all forms of work or study arrangements: full-time, part-time and week-on/week-off. Moreover, the minimum hours required to engage in work or study to qualify for up to 45 hours per week is very low – at just two hours per week. In this way, the NCS encourages parents to return to the labour force or education and deliver better outcomes for their children.
All families, regardless of income or work status, are entitled to a universal subsidy of €2.14 per hour for up to 45 hours of care per week. Higher levels of support are targeted at lower-income families through the income-assessed subsidy.
As set out in Shaping the Future: The Early Years Action Plan, further enhancements to the income-assessed subsidy will be introduced in September 2026. These include increasing the lower income threshold from €26,000 to €34,000 and the upper threshold from €60,000 to €68,000, improving affordability for up to 47,000 children from lower-income families.
An evaluation of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) has recently commenced. This review will assess the performance of the Scheme to date and its operation within the wider early learning and childcare funding and policy environment.
The evaluation will examine whether the NCS, as part of the wider funding model, is making high-quality early learning and childcare more accessible and affordable, particularly for families in the lowest income groups and the most disadvantaged households. It will also identify any improvements that could be made to enhance accessibility and affordability and to ensure that the Scheme is working for as many families as possible. Eligibility for the scheme and the number of subsidised hours will be assessed as part of this evaluation.
The findings of the evaluation will inform potential enhancements to the National Childcare Scheme to continue to support families with the cost of early learning and childcare, in line with Shaping the Future the recently published Early Years Action Plan.
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. 2026 actions on affordability will include further reduction in some of the highest fees paid by parents through Core Funding; and reduced 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.
865. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps her Department is taking to improve access to the national childcare scheme for children at risk of poverty who had more access to childcare under the former community childcare subvention scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37001/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Childcare Scheme (NCS), introduced in November 2019, was designed to improve the affordability and accessibility of quality early learning and childcare for families across Ireland. In replacing legacy programmes, such as the Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP), the NCS tangibly reduces the cost of early learning and childcare for thousands of families across the State. This is because, unlike legacy programmes which were grounded in social protection payments and medical card status, the NCS offers a comprehensive and progressive system of universal and income-based subsidies. In this way, it aims to combat the poverty traps which existed within legacy programmes, and to appropriately incentivise employment and education/training for parents.
The NCS provides a single statutory entitlement based on the principles of progressive universalism. All families can receive a universal subsidy of €2.14 per hour (for a maximum of 45 weekly hours), but the highest subsides are provided to families with the lowest levels of income through an income assessment process. Families with a reckonable income of €26,000 or less qualify for the maximum subsidy rate of, for example, €5.10 per hour for a child aged between 24-52 weeks or €3.75 for a school-aged child.
The Scheme also contains a number of measures specifically intended to support vulnerable families. In particular, the NCS Sponsorship arrangement allows designated bodies to refer children to the Scheme where childcare is needed on child welfare, protection, family support or other specified grounds. Where a referral is made by a Sponsor Body, the family will automatically qualify for a subsidy without being required to satisfy the Scheme’s standard eligibility, income assessment or enhanced hours requirements.
It is worth noting that the Scheme has also been significantly enhanced since its introduction in 2019. Recent measures include the extension of the universal subsidy to all children under 15 years of age and increases in the minimum subsidy rate from €0.50c per hour in 2019 to the current rate of €2.14 per hour.
Further enhancements to the income-assessed subsidy are also being introduced from 31 August 2026. These include an increase in the lower income threshold to qualify for the maximum subsidy rate from €26,000 to €34,000. This will ensure that more families on lower incomes, including those below the relative poverty line, will qualify for the highest level of support. In addition, increases to the Multiple Child Discount component of the income-assessed subsidy for families with two or more children will further reduce families’ reckonable income, thereby supporting access to higher subsidy rates.
Finally, children who were in receipt of CCSP supports prior to the closure of that programme to new entrants were permitted to remain on the programme or transfer to the NCS where it was of greater benefit to that family. While still available to this cohort, it is expected that the number of families availing of CCSP will continue to reduce over time as children age out of the programme or transition to the NCS.
The Department continues to keep the operation of the NCS under review, including the efficacy of supports available to low income and vulnerable families while ensuring the overall objective of improving children’s outcomes, supporting labour market participation and reducing child poverty are progressed.
867. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures in place to ensure the financial sustainability of not for profit, community based childcare services in areas of disadvantage, particularly in Fingal where such services make up a disproportionately small share of overall provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37003/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraCore 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.
The introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector. €259 million of funding was made available for services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding to the sector.
That annual allocation has increased each year since and has exceeded €390 million for year 4 of the Scheme. This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years.
Further investment in Core Funding was announced 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 €90 million on the current full year allocation, or a 23% increase. The increased funding includes over €20 million in brand new funding to support providers in adhering to Core Funding fee management conditions, including reductions in the maximum fee caps in the 2026/2027 programme year. This will ensure that Core Funding’s monetary protections will continue to be passed on to families while ensuring sustainability and stability for the sector.
The majority of Core Funding is distributed to services via the Base Rate, which is based on a service’s staffed capacity – the opening hours, operating weeks, the age group for whom services are provided, and the number of places available. Core Funding allocations are based on staffed places, not on child registrations and attendance levels. This provides services a guaranteed minimum income, supporting stability where attendance may be fluctuating.
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.
The Department has also made changes to improve the sustainability of providers through, for example, targeted measures for small and sessional services, and mechanisms whereby services charging low fees can apply for controlled fee increases.
The 2024/2025 Fee Increase Assessment process served to uplift services that were identified as having particularly low fees, where approval to increase was based on a unit-cost analysis conducted by the Department using service application data. A new process targeting services with low fees is currently in development, with details to be announced once finalised.
Core Funding operates alongside the National Childcare Scheme, the Early Childhood Care and Education programme and Equal Start and constitutes additional income for providers on top of funding for these schemes, as well as income from parental fees.
Since 2017, the Department has also offered Sustainability Funding to community early learning and 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 non-profit 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.
Through Case Management supports, the Department will assist providers with interpreting aspects of their business model including analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances. Sustainability funding enhances Core Funding by providing supports to services who are in most in need of financial assistance.
The sustainability fund is accessed through a collaborative process involving the service, their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC), and Pobal, who assess financial eligibility and need.
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 their local CCC can be found at www.myccc.ie.
Further, Equal Start is a funding model and set of associated universal and targeted measures to support access and meaningful participation in early learning and childcare for children and their families who experience disadvantage.
Equal Start was launched in May 2024 delivering on a key commitment in the First 5 strategy (2019-2028), and initial roll-out commenced in September 2024. The development of Equal Start reflects the importance of ensuring that children from all backgrounds, and most particularly children experiencing disadvantage, can access and participate in early learning and childcare services.
Equal Start provides a continuum of child level, setting level and universal supports to support equitable access and meaningful participation across early learning and care settings, with a focus on children at risk of disadvantage, including Traveller children, Roma children, children availing of sponsor referrals by Government agencies, children experiencing homelessness, children in the International Protection system and children living in deprived areas.
806 settings (serving 38,000 children) identified as operating in a context of concentrated disadvantage have been given ‘priority designation’ and are now receiving additional supports. Since September 2024, these settings have been receiving funding for additional staff hours that can be used to facilitate more one-to-one time with individual children or reduce room ratios, as well as support engagement between the settings and families and other child and family support services. There are 428 community-based settings in receipt of Staffing Supports funding (237 Tier 1 and 191 Tier 2).
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. Phase 2 actions will include a roadmap to: Build on the enhanced public management provided by Core Funding to ensure both sustainability of providers and value for money for the Exchequer, providing a fair deal both for providers and for the State.
Shaping the Future also commits to continue to strengthen the Equal Start programme, ensuring children experiencing disadvantage can access and participate fully in early learning and childcare, and supporting the objective of contributing to a reduction in child poverty.
868. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has examined alternative funding models for community childcare, including funding childcare places rather than hourly capitation per child; whether a "poverty premium" has been considered to reflect enhanced supports provided in disadvantaged settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37004/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe early learning and childcare sector is currently an entirely privately delivered sector with three quarters of operators established on a for-profit basis and one quarter of a not-for-profit basis.
Following on from the publication of Partnership for the Public Good in 2021, the sector has seen substantially increased public funding accompanied by significantly greater levels of public management.
Government sees a role for both private and community in the early learning and childcare sector and accordingly it does not differentiate between for-profit and not-for-profit services in either the eligibility criteria for or the calculation and distribution of either Core Funding or demand-side funding through the ECCE programme, the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) and Equal Start.
Funding Staffed Childcare Places
Core Funding is a supply-side grant to providers designed to support quality, sustainability, and enhanced public management, with associated condition in relation to fee control and cost transparency, incorporating funding for administration and to support the employment of graduate staff.
The calculation of a services Core Funding grant contains multiple elements – the Base Rate, Graduate Premiums, Targeted Measures and the new Staff Funding Additional Contribution.
The majority of funding distributed to services via the base rate. This is based on a service’s staffed capacity, that is, the number of staff, the operating hours, opening weeks and the age group of children for whom services are provided, as well as the number of places available. The scheme also pays graduate premiums for services with graduate lead educators, or graduate managers.
Core Funding allocations are based on staffed places, not on child registrations and attendance levels. Places do not have to be filled in order to be allocated Core Funding, but for capacity to be funded, there must be enough staff in place to satisfy the minimum staff to child ratios as set in the Regulations made under the Child Care Act 1991. This provides services a guaranteed minimum income, supporting stability where attendance may be fluctuating.
The base rates in Core Funding have been developed using the various components associated with 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.
Enhanced NCS Income Assessed Supports & Supports for Disadvantaged Settings
The NCS has undergone a number of enhancements in recent Budgets with the minimum NCS subsidy steadily rising from €0.50 in 2022 to €2.14 in September 2024 alongside extensions to eligibility. Additionally, since September 2024, the NCS has been open to Tusla-registered childminders who wish to participate in the scheme. Families availing of childminders who are participating in the NCS can claim a subsidy towards their costs. Further enhancements to the income-assessed subsidy are being introduced from September 2026, raising the base threshold from €26,000 to €34,000 and the maximum threshold from €60,000 to €68,000, with additional increases to the multiple child discounts.
An evaluation of the NCS commenced in Q1 2026. The evaluation will assess the performance of the NCS to date and its operation within the wider early learning and childcare funding and policy environment. The evaluation will examine whether the NCS, as part of the wider funding model, is making high-quality early learning and childcare more accessible and affordable, particularly for families in the lowest income groups and the most disadvantaged households. It will also identify any improvements that could be made to enhance accessibility and affordability and to ensure that the NCS is working for as many families as possible. In particular, as outlined in Simplify and Support, the Action Plan for Simplification, through the evaluation and the development of Phase 2 of Shaping the Future, there is a commitment to examine alternatives to the NCS hourly-based subsidy model.
With regard to enhanced supports for services operating in the context of disadvantage, in September 2024, the Department commenced the rollout of Equal Start, a major model of supports to ensure children experiencing disadvantage can access and meaningfully participate in early learning and childcare.
Equal Start includes a suite of universal supports, child-targeted supports, and setting-targeted supports to ensure every child and every early learning and childcare setting will benefit from a continuum of supports that reflects a continuum of need.
Settings benefitting from setting-targeted supports are settings which have been objectively identified as operating in the context of the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage.
In line with the rules for Equal Start, Partner Services with a Tier 1 or Tier 2 priority designation under Equal Start in 2024 will retain that designation for a two programme year cycle once they remain in contract for Core Funding (i.e. for programme years 2024/25 and 2025/26). The Equal Start Identification Model will be rerun in 2026 for the next two-year cycle (i.e. programme years 2026/27 and 2027/28) for all settings.
869. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality what assessment has been carried out on the risk of closure or reduction in opening hours of community childcare services following the withdrawal of CCS and full implementation of the national childcare scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37005/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP) Saver Programme is a legacy programme that supports parents/guardians on a low income to avail of an early learning and childcare place at reduced cost at participating services. It closed permanently in November 2019 with the introduction of NCS and remains in place on a transitional basis while children age out.
The early learning and childcare sector is currently entirely privately delivered, with three quarters of operators established on a for-profit basis and one quarter of a not-for-profit basis. Following on from the publication of Partnership for the Public Good in 2021, the sector has seen substantially increased public funding accompanied by significantly greater levels of public management.
Government sees a role for both private and community services in the early learning and childcare sector and accordingly it does not differentiate between for-profit and not-for-profit services in either the eligibility criteria for or the calculation and distribution of either Core Funding or demand-side funding through the ECCE programme, the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) and Equal Start.
As of 15/05/2026 there are 338 services in contract for the CCSP Saver Programme, all of which are in contract for NCS and 245 of these services are also in contract for the ECCE programme. Approximately 40% (137 of the 338 services) are community services.
Of the 338 services who are in contract for CCSP and NCS, 323 are Core Funding Partner services.
An evaluation of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) has recently commenced. This review will assess the performance of the Scheme to date and its operation within the wider early learning and childcare funding and policy environment. The evaluation will examine whether the NCS, as part of the wider funding model, is making high-quality early learning and childcare more accessible and affordable, particularly for families in the lowest income groups and the most disadvantaged households. It will also identify any improvements that could be made to enhance accessibility and affordability and to ensure that the Scheme is working for as many families as possible.
