Written Answers Nos. 442-462
442. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full year cost to the State of taking on the wages and associated costs for early years educators and school age care practitioners. [46683/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraPay is one of a number of challenges impacting the early learning and care and school-age childcare workforce. The level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners does not reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy.
Although the Government is the primary funder of the sector, it is not the employer and cannot directly set wages or conditions for any staff in the sector.
The Joint Labour Committee is the formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates, which are set down in Employment Regulation Orders, and is independent in its functions.
Pay and conditions are improving. Through the work of the JLC and successive ERO’s, minimum pay rates have now risen three times in four years, delivering an average 15% increase in minimum rates of pay. This marks significant progress in professionalising the workforce. The latest ERO came into effect in October 2025 which saw an increase in minimum pay rates of, on average, 10% and will increase pay for over 67% of staff in the sector.
Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by Government through Core Funding. In this programme year 2025/26 Core Funding has increased by 6% to approximately €350 million with an additional €45 million in ring-fenced Core Funding provided to support services in meeting the increased cost of minimum pay rates in the sector. For programme year 2026/2027, I recently announced that Core Funding will be increased by 23% to €480 million. An additional €45 million has also been ringfenced from September 2026 to support services in meeting the potential costs of increasing rates of pay, contingent upon new ERO’s being enacted following successful negotiations by the independent JLC.
The estimated full year costs of wages and associated costs for early years educators and school age care practitioners is over €1.241 billion.
• Cost estimates are based on the most recent data available to the Department which was provided by service providers in May 2026.
• The figure does not include the cost of public sector terms and conditions in relation to holiday pay or sick leave due to the complexities of mapping such conditions. However, a 21% employer cost has been included in the calculations (to cover PRSI, Holiday pay, Sick Pay and Auto Enrolment Pension contributions).
• The cost estimates only relate to staff and managers covered by the current Employment Regulation Orders, i.e. the estimates exclude the cost of ancillary staff.
• The figure provided does not take into account the income currently received by those working in the sector who are self-employed and who derive their income from profits rather than wages.
443. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full year cost of increasing the funding made available for sponsored children in early years services to meet the actual costs of an early years place. [46686/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
444. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full year cost of extending AIMS to children under three years-of -age. [46687/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy in due course.
445. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full year cost of extending AIMS to children in afterschool. [46688/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy in due course.
446. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full year cost of increasing the foster care allowance by €1. [46689/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraFoster carers play a vital role in enabling our most vulnerable children to live in a safe, secure and stable home environment. The foster care allowance was last increased at the end of 2024, meaning that foster carers now receive between €20,800 and €22,100 per year for each child in their care, depending on the age of the child.
The table below sets out the full year cost of increasing the foster care allowance by €1.
|
- |
No. of children in Foster Care |
Additional weekly cost of €1 increase |
Additional yearly cost of €1 increase |
|
Under 12 |
2,814 |
€2,814 |
€146,328 |
|
Over 12 |
2,254 |
€2,254 |
€117,208 |
|
- |
|
Total yearly cost: |
€263,536 |
447. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full year cost of increasing the aftercare allowance by €1. [46690/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question relates to operational information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been referred to the Agency to reply directly to the Deputy.
448. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare services that have left NCS core funding and remain outside of it, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46715/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs 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.
The table provides a breakdown of the engagement with Core Funding by County division.
|
COUNTY DIVISION |
Continued participation |
Left, since returned |
Left, remains out |
Never participated |
|
Cork City |
158 |
8 |
3 |
6 |
|
County Carlow |
53 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
County Cavan |
75 |
8 |
1 |
6 |
|
County Clare |
147 |
9 |
3 |
5 |
|
County Cork |
358 |
31 |
10 |
16 |
|
County Donegal |
149 |
25 |
8 |
15 |
|
County Galway |
250 |
42 |
17 |
21 |
|
County Kerry |
149 |
14 |
4 |
6 |
|
County Kildare |
165 |
18 |
6 |
8 |
|
County Kilkenny |
99 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
|
County Laois |
80 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
|
County Leitrim |
44 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
County Limerick |
204 |
16 |
3 |
12 |
|
County Longford |
37 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
County Louth |
100 |
10 |
1 |
3 |
|
County Mayo |
125 |
12 |
6 |
2 |
|
County Meath |
169 |
16 |
13 |
8 |
|
County Monaghan |
64 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
County Offaly |
66 |
10 |
0 |
5 |
|
County Roscommon |
67 |
6 |
0 |
3 |
|
County Sligo |
73 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
|
County Tipperary |
172 |
24 |
3 |
6 |
|
County Waterford |
92 |
6 |
2 |
6 |
|
County Westmeath |
84 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
|
County Wexford |
137 |
14 |
6 |
12 |
|
County Wicklow |
134 |
15 |
2 |
8 |
|
Dublin City |
318 |
62 |
33 |
30 |
|
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown |
144 |
11 |
14 |
27 |
|
Fingal |
254 |
20 |
18 |
26 |
|
South Dublin |
190 |
15 |
16 |
20 |
|
TOTAL |
4,157 |
415 |
177 |
286 |
Uptake of Core Funding remains strong. As of 8 June, 4,648 have signed up to the fourth year of Core Funding which represents 93% of all 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.
Applications for Core Funding 2026/2027 opened on 8 June 2026. The Department is currently analysing withdrawals from the Core Funding Scheme following the launch of the application module. A comprehensive withdrawal analysis in relation to the Core Funding Scheme will also be conducted at the end of the 2025/2026 programme year. According to data provided by Pobal on 16 June, since November 2025 a total of 6 services have withdrawn from Core Funding at one point. Of these 6 services, 2 services have rejoined Core Funding following their initial withdrawal.
449. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has considered introducing additional supports for parents with children in childcare that fall outside NCS core funding, such as childcare tax relief; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46716/26]
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.
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 2022 to over €390 million in 2025). This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years.
As of 8 June, 4,648 services are contracted to Core Funding programme year 2025/2026, which is 93.3% of all eligible services. Over 70% of services who left the scheme at one point have returned to the Scheme. 336 eligible services are currently not participating. These services are welcome to join Core Funding at any stage. The Department/CCC can support services with further information on how to join.
Core Funding has enjoyed high participation from the sector since its launch in September 2022.
Currently, services that partake in the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) are not required to take part in Core Funding, reducing the impact of the NCS as some families are not benefiting from the fee-control measures (fee-freeze and fee caps) or additional funding for quality provision that is provided by Core Funding. This will also be the case for the coming programme year 2026/2027.
Shaping 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. The Action Plan adopts a phased approach that enables action to be taken in 2026 while allowing adequate time for a 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.
To deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to progressively reduce parental fees to €200 per month, the Phase 1 report of Shaping the Future states that a roadmap will be set out in Phase 2 to ensure that all publicly funded providers are supported to take part in Core Funding.
As noted in the Phase 1 report, this will include measures to reduce the administrative burden for providers of participating in publicly funded schemes.
Tax credits/ deductions have previously been considered in the context of work by the Department to reduce the cost of early learning and childcare to parents. Research by an Inter-Departmental Group in 2016 showed that supply-side measures (such as subsidies paid directly to providers to reduce fees to parents), rather than demand-side measures (such as tax credits to parents), represented the most effective use of Exchequer investment. This conclusion was based on international experience and on the ability to leverage quality and control fees for parents through supply-side measures.
450. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the number of National Ambulance Service emergency incidents in County Clare in each of the years 2021 to 2025 involving major trauma, suspected stroke, STEMI, cardiac arrest or other time-critical conditions; the location of the incident by municipal district; the destination hospital, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46413/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
451. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Health if she is aware that the HSE has refused to implement Labour Court Recommendation LCR 23209, issued in January 2026, which directed the restoration of the long-standing pay link between perfusionists and medical scientists with retrospective effect from 1 January 2024 (details supplied); the estimated total annual cost of restoring the pay link for all 25 perfusionists in the State; the engagement her Department has had with the HSE to direct implementation of the Labour Court recommendation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46423/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Minister would like to acknowledge the hard work carried out by perfusionists across the HSE.
The Department of Health and the [HSE] accept in full the Labour Court recommendation regarding the pay claim by Perfusionists and are supportive of implementing the proposed pay adjustment as soon as possible. A Circular has issued to instruct payment of same.
452. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the supports and services that will be available to a school leaver (details supplied) if an adult day service placement has not been confirmed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46426/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis PQ is not for the Department of Health. We respectfully request that this Parliamentary Question be redirected to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality as the matters raised fall under their remit.
453. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the reason the invalidity pension of a person (details supplied) is now being claimed by the HSE; the reason no notice was given to their spouse; and if consideration was given to the fact that they have a joint mortgage that cannot now be met. [46431/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
454. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health when the HSE working group established in 2023 to develop a national care pathway for lipoedema will complete its work; when the pathway is expected to be published; if there will be consultation with the public and advocacy organisations prior to its publication; if this pathway would include surgical and non-surgical intervention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46435/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the matter(s) raised is a service delivery matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
455. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Health the reason a medical card has been withdrawn from an Irish citizen (details supplied) who has lived and worked in Ireland for fifty years and was in receipt of a medical card prior to 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46439/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
456. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health if her Department has assessed the impact of overnight partner restrictions on postnatal anxiety, depression, breastfeeding, dignity, safety and maternal wellbeing; her views on whether blanket overnight restrictions on partners staying in maternity hospitals is acceptable; if exceptions will be considered for difficult births or for other issues; if she will consider a national standard for family-centred postnatal care, including overnight partner support where the mother requests it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46440/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra458. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has assessed the impact of overnight partner restrictions on postnatal anxiety, depression, breastfeeding, dignity, safety and maternal wellbeing. [46462/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra459. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health whether she considers blanket overnight restrictions after childbirth acceptable. [46463/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra460. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health whether her Department will consider a national standard for family-centred postnatal care, including overnight partner support where the mother requests it.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46464/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra475. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health whether exceptions will be considered for private rooms, caesarean sections, traumatic births, anxiety, breastfeeding difficulties, mobility issues or other clinical and emotional support needs. [46507/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 456, 458, 459, 460 and 475 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
457. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health when selpercatinib (details supplied) will be made available here. [46451/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines and medical devices; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
461. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health if she will undertake a review of the current graduation system in Northern Ireland (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46465/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra462. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health if she will undertake a review of the current system of (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46466/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 461 and 462 together.
Medical workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate future supply of suitably qualified medical professionals in Ireland is a top priority for the Government.
Irish medical students who graduate from Northern Ireland are eligible to apply for internship in the HSE. Under the current application process, all eligible EU citizens and UK citizens who have applied for internship in Ireland in recent years have received an offer of internship. This allows Irish graduates from medical schools the opportunity to return to Ireland as doctors and, following successful completion of internship, continue specialty training in Ireland.
The number of internship posts has been permanently increased since 2021 with the establishment of 145 new intern places.
879 medical Intern posts were available in July 2025, representing an increase of 20% (145 places) in the number of intern posts available and filled since 2019. The number of medical intern places available for July 2026 has been increased by 4% to 915 intern places.
The Department and the HSE continue to keep the current internship policy under review to ensure that the policy continues to support the development and growth of the medical workforce.
