Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
28. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of service providers who have applied to become state-led providers of public childcare facilities, and to provide a breakdown of the number of providers that are private, community and not-for-profit. [46907/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI 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 State-led initiative will provide thousands of places up to 2030 using the allocation from the National Development Plan. The level of investment will ramp up over the lifetime of the Government.
The Department has received project proposals from a number of sources since the programme was launched. As of 18 June, there are 90 potential projects which the Department is considering. These include projects which the Department was aware of prior to the programme launching, projects it has sought out and those for which it has received a specific project proposal through a preliminary appraisal form. This figure does not include projects that have been communicated informally to the Department but which require formal submission.
Approximately 30 project proposals have been submitted as Preliminary Appraisal Forms to the local City/County Childcare Committees and these can come from a number of sources; in addition to proposals from early learning and childcare operators, there are proposals from property owners, developers, local authorities and other State agencies.
There are approximately 20 preliminary appraisal forms which have been submitted by community organisations proposing to operate a State-led service. All of the preliminary appraisal forms submitted by proposed operators are from not-for-profit/community groups.
In all instances State-led services will be operated on a not for profit basis. Proposals from private operators are not being considered.
To assess potential projects, a forward planning model has been developed. The model seeks to identify the nature and volume of different types of early learning and childcare places across the country and how that aligns with the numbers of children in the corresponding age cohorts at local area level. An extensive data analysis and cleaning exercise has been undertaken to map available publicly-subsidised supply.
As well as the forward planning model, a suite of appraisal criteria and tools have been developed in order to assess the potential alignment of projects with Departmental goals of promoting quality, inclusion, accessibility and affordability.
The Department is now assessing project options in order to identify which are best placed to deliver on the goals of the programme.
Local City and County Childcare Committees will be supporting the development of projects 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.
