Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 June 2026
435. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her Department’s plans to respond to a survey carried out among the parents of Naas, County Kildare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46522/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraShaping the Future: The Early Years Action Plan, Phase 1 report (published on the 17 of December 2025) sets out measures to achieve key Programme for Government commitments on the affordability, quality, and accessibility of early learning and care and school-age childcare.
One of the objectives of Shaping the Future is to increase the supply of places, strengthening supply-side funding to support services’ sustainability and staff wages, while introducing State-led facilities to complement other measures to increase capacity.
Phase 2 actions will be undertaken from 2027 to 2029. While we need to make progress quickly, the actions we take must be sustainable, underpinned by public consultation and research, and delivered in a way that supports families, the workforce and service providers. That is why a broad public consultation process is currently underway. An online survey has been completed, with more than 11,000 responses. More than 56 local consultation events, organised with the City and County Childcare Committees, took place during April 2026.
Results of this consultation process, as well as additional analysis, will inform Phase 2 of the Action Plan. The Action Plan adopts a phased approach that enables action to be taken in 2026 while allowing adequate time for the broad public consultation and analysis on longer-term actions, which will be set out in a second report, to be published by the end of 2026.
Each year, Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile. Data for the Early Years Sector Profile is typically captured in May/June of each programme year. While ELC and SAC offerings vary across service providers and the allocation of ELC or SAC places is flexible, the published capacity data provides an estimate of the number of children enrolled in ELC and SAC and the percentage of services with at least one vacant place at a given time.
The most recent published capacity data for the 2024/25 programme year estimated that there were 12,087 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services in County Kildare. This data also indicated that 43% of services in Kildare had at least one vacant place.
Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government.
ELC and SAC capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2024/25 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 25% from the 2021/22 programme year.
This is particularly the case with school age childcare services. Estimated enrolments in school-age childcare, based on Sector Profile data, have grown by 77% over the last three years.
However, it appears that demand for ELC and SAC remains higher than available supply in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children.
The Department continues to support the ongoing development and resourcing of Core Funding which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced. Core Funding, which is in its fourth programme year, funds services based on the number of places available.
This provides stability to services, and reduces the risk associated with opening a new service or expanding an already existing service
The Government is also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is designed to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care. Core Funding Partner Services could apply for capital funding to physically extend their premises or to construct or purchase new premises. The Scheme will deliver up to 1,500 full-day care places for 1- to 3-year-olds.
Following on from the success of the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme, a further Building Blocks scheme is now open for applications. This round of capital funding will focus on funding extensions to existing premises to allow for increased numbers of children to be offered places on a full-time basis. Community and private providers who are currently Core Funding partner services will be eligible to apply for this scheme. Details can be found here:
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/building-blocks-extension-scheme-phase-2/ .
Separately, I recently announced €135 million of capital investment over the coming five years for State-led services to provide high-quality, accessible ELC and SAC. The process will begin in 2026 with investment in buildings in what will be a ground-breaking initiative.
Up to eight buildings will be selected for investment this year. The State-led initiative will provide thousands of places up to 2030.
The Department also funds 30 City/County Childcare Committees, which provide support and assist families and ELC and SAC providers. The network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees across the country can assist in identifying vacant places in services for children and families who need them and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their ELC and SAC needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance. The contact details for the Kildare County Childcare Committee may be found at https://www.kccc.ie/ .
