I thank the Deputy. Every year it is normal for some services to open and for some services to close. The year 2024 saw a five-year high in the number of childcare services opening and a five-year low in the number of early learning and childcare services closing. A total of 357 services opened, while 131 services closed, which resulted in a net increase of 226 childcare services opening in 2024. There have been year-on-year increases in the number of childcare services opening since registration of school-age childcare began in 2019. The register and related data are updated monthly by Tusla and reported to my Department the following month. The data I have available from Tusla from the end of 2024 indicates a total of 5,106 childcare services were registered with Tusla at that time. Last year, as I mentioned, there was a net increase of 226 childcare services and previous years also saw net increases in the number of childcare services. The net increase and total number of childcare services was 46, 51, 30 and 129 in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Year on year, we are seeing a net increase and that is testament to the significant amount of State funding going into this sector to support providers, while also ensuring we have additional places and staff who are appropriately remunerated.
Sentiment score: 0.24
I thank the Deputy. To be clear, I am under no illusions regarding the importance of retaining staff in this sector. I have been clear on that from the outset. We can make all the progress we want in having additional places and more accommodations available but if we do not have staff working in the sector, we achieve nothing at all. Suffice to say, the Government has put €45 million on the table for this year that is ring-fenced, solely for the purpose of ensuring there will be an increase in wages for staff working in the sector. The decision on that, however, is a matter for the joint labour committee which is independent of the Government. I have met committee members on a couple of occasions and have been clear on my personal view on all that funding being used for staff but it will be an independent decision. Nevertheless, I am very clear about the importance of paying staff appropriately.
Sentiment score: 0.36
I thank Deputies Cooney and McAuliffe. I will go to the last question first. The building blocks scheme has been positively welcomed and will deliver an additional 1,500 places, which is hugely important. The budget available for that was €25 million and I appreciate this brings its own constraints but it is delivering 1,500 additional places. As I previously outlined, we are also working on payment for staff with the money being ring-fenced and put on the table being the €45 million. Specifically on Deputy Cooney's question, it is very difficult to determine families who have different needs at different times and therefore may require longer or lesser hours in a childcare facility. It is a matter for parents in this respect because we do not know their individual circumstances but I hear the point he raises.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I acknowledge the Deputy's question which specifically asks about after-school and general childcare places. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing, which is an important point to make at the outset. The estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% between 2022 and 2024. Enrolments in Cork county and city each increased by almost 29% in the same period. Core funding application data shows between years one and three of the scheme, annual place hours increased by more than 15%. The growth in school age childcare plans has been particularly strong. Data from Tusla shows there was an increase of 34 services on the school-age register in Cork alone in 2024. We continue to support sustainability and expansion of the sector through 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 supports providers with operating costs based on the number of places available. A forward planning and delivery unit within the Department has been expanded, with the allocation of additional staff in its pursuit of an ambitious programme of work. For the first time, the programme for Government commits to providing capital investment to build or purchase State-owned early learning and childcare facilities to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. The programme for Government also sets out the ambition to work with schools to host before- and after-school childcare in school buildings, as well as planning the development of State-led early learning and childcare facilities in tandem with the school building programme. Last year, the Department of education published procedures on the use of school property and sports facilities outside of school hours - I was keen to publish this and did so last year. This guideline provides encouragement and guidance to schools to make available facilities for early learning and childcare and other community purposes when the space is not required by the school. Officials have met several times with officials from the Department of education planning and building unit to share expertise and information on this.
Sentiment score: 0.33
We absolutely recognise that there are areas across the country where it is extremely challenging for the needs of parents to be met. For this reason, the Department is taking a number of initiatives, such as the building blocks extension scheme to provide assistance for an existing provider to put on an extension and to provide for more places. Where that is not a possibility and where no provider is in place, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to introduce State-led facilities. There would be a public model for the purchasing or building of a facility to provide for the needs in an area. To support this work, there is now a forward planning unit in the Department, specifically looking at areas of the country where there is an absence of facilities. Where that is found to be the case, the Department will step in to provide the public model.
Sentiment score: 0.10
I will begin by addressing Deputy Gould's points. The express purpose last year of introducing the guidelines to schools was to ensure that they would have a freedom, at the end of the school day, to introduce things like after-school provision. As part of the guidelines, schools were informed that any funding they received through that would not impact on any grants they received from the Department of Education. It would a matter entirely for themselves to hold so that boards of management would feel that they had a freedom if it was their wish to provide after-school activities by having a provider step in, or whatever. I am just pointing out that this is a reality. Also, the public model I referred to earlier is looking at instances where no capacity is available in a particular area. Tuigim go bhfuil gá le háiseanna a chur ar fáil trí mhean na Gaeilge freisin. I completely understand that there is a need for facilities that work through the medium of Irish to be provided for. This is not just in terms of childcare but also includes a range of facilities that fall within the remit of the Department. That is a hugely important initiative.
Sentiment score: 0.18
The Department funds the provision of a range of Tusla services in County Clare, including family resource centres in Shannon, Kilrush, Ennistymon and Killaloe. These services do great work with children and families throughout Clare, and I am delighted to be able to support that work. According to information provided by Tusla on the number of social workers in Clare, I have been informed that 20 social workers are currently employed in the county. Three vacancies exist, and I understand that Tusla has undertaken a number of initiatives to address these vacancies, which are expected to be filled over the summer months. These vacancies originate from October 2023, May 2024 and June of this year. While I acknowledge the efforts Tusla has made to resolve these specific vacancies, I am aware of the difficulties the agency has faced in recruiting and retaining social workers across the country, while child protection referral rates continue to increase year on year. In that context, Tusla has informed me that there are currently 77 children with no allocated social worker in County Clare. However, I understand that all of these children have been allocated a social care worker, and I am informed that all urgent cases receive a social work service. However, I acknowledge the critical importance of children in care, or in need of child welfare and protection services, being allocated a social worker. The Department has actively engaged with Tusla and other stakeholders with regard to addressing issues relating to the supply, recruitment and retention of social workers. A significant range of initiatives have been undertaken in this regard, and Tusla achieved a national increase of almost 5% in social work employment levels between March 2024 and March 2025, with 79 whole-time equivalents. In respect of the Deputy’s query regarding the availability of care placements, Tusla has indicated that there are currently 11 children awaiting residential or foster care in County Clare. I am informed that Tusla has placed all these children in residential respite, short-term fostering or supported lodgings. It is a shared aim of the Department and Tusla to provide a significant and sufficient number of high-quality placements to children in care, and specific actions are being undertaken in this regard.
Sentiment score: 0.38
I confirm that the Department allocated additional funding to Tusla in 2023 and 2024 and there was record investment in 2025. This included increased capital investment. Regarding foster care, 87.2% of all children in State care are cared for in the foster care setting. I cannot overstate the importance of this. It is a great opportunity for children to be placed in the foster care setting, which is excellent. In recognition of that, even though it is at 82.7%, which is high, we want it to be higher. The Department has overseen significant investment in foster care supports, including the foster care allowance. This has been increased to €400 per week for children under 12 and €425 per week for children over 12. Today, there was an announcement in relation to the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. In addition, budget 2025 provided further investment and support directed towards children in foster care. This included an initial payment at the start of each foster care placement.
Sentiment score: 0.39
As I said at the outset, there are 20 social workers in County Clare. All of the three current vacancies are due to be filled this summer, depending on whether they relate to a career break, maternity leave or whatever else, so they will be at their full capacity of 23 social workers. I recognise the invaluable work of social workers. Across the country, there is a lack of social workers available to us. It is for that reason that social work, per se, is on the critical skills list of the Department of enterprise. It is also for that reason that new routes to social work training are in place. In UCC there is an apprenticeship model of earn-as-you-learn. That is very important because the wider we can cast the net for people to become involved in this field of work, the better. Some 320 additional places are being provided in further and higher education this year alone, and a significant number of them are in the area of social work.
Sentiment score: -0.01
I appreciate the Deputy's ongoing engagement with me on this matter. She will be aware that earlier this month I announced the introduction of maximum fee caps for all partner services in core funding from September 2025. The fee freeze will remain in place for all partner services with fees below these caps. This is an important step towards the reduction of childcare fees to €200 per month over the lifetime of this Government. Maximum fee caps were introduced for new services last year, and this September they will be extended to existing services also. Under the new fee caps, the highest possible fees will be no more than €295 per week for a full-day place of 40 to 50 hours per week. Once the national childcare scheme subsidy is taken into account, the maximum fee for a parent in this situation will be less than €200 per week. This latest measure builds on a range of supports already in place. The ECCE programme provides two years of preschool without charge and has participation rates of 96%. More than 70% of families say that if it was not a free service they would never have been able to access it. The national childcare scheme, NCS, complements ECCE, giving universal and targeted subsidies to reduce costs to parents. Recent improvements include the extension of the universal subsidy to children under 15 and two increases to the minimum hourly subsidy, now worth €96.30 per week for 45 hours. Almost 220,000 children benefited from a subsidy in 2024. Since last September, children in childminding settings can also benefit from national childcare scheme subsidies. In addition, the fee management system introduced through core funding has made sure the investment in affordability is not absorbed by unnecessary fee increases. Core funding has enjoyed high participation rates to date, with 92% of services taking part. Preparations for the first Estimates process for this Government are under way and I am committed to bringing forward proposals to make further progress in this area. Work is also under way to develop an action plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare system, informed by stakeholder consultation. This will set out future steps to reduce the cost of childcare further to €200 per month.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I thank the Deputy very much. I acknowledge that she has consistently raised the very specific challenges in her area. She is correct that the cost of childcare is one thing; the remuneration of staff is another element of it; and there is also the availability of places or access to places. In that respect, there are a number of different initiatives. We already discussed that two weeks ago when we announced the Building Blocks scheme, which was of benefit to some, although not all, and will deliver an additional 1,500 places. The forward planning unit is an important unit within the Department. Work is currently under way to specifically identify an absence of provision. Other Deputies have identified places in their constituencies where there is an absence of provision; in other words, where there is greater demand than the provision that is available. That work is under way. Its purpose is to identify the areas and then to provide a stream of funding for a public model, whereby the State will step in to buy or build new childcare facilities.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I thank the Deputies for their questions. On the last point, I have been very clear and the programme for Government is very clear: this will be delivered over the lifetime of this Government. It will be done in an incremental manner. One of the first key steps was taken just last week when we announced a fee cap would be put in place. We will build on that as we go forward. Deputy Boland has engaged with me before about building blocks. It is a scheme with existing criteria, which is absolutely delivering for some. I hear what the Deputy is saying on the flexibility going forward. There has to be a clawback as well for the State. If funding is being provided by State, there must be commitments given for the length of time that they will continue to work in the area of childcare. It is a fine line that we walk there. On the points that have been raised on mothers working at home and in particular mothers, which is very pertinent to both the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and myself, in the area of disability, there are specific funds relating to disability such as domiciliary care allowances. Fundings of that nature are made available. The key point is that even in childcare services there is a choice for people to avail of the service and that all are included in the service, including children with disabilities, whom the Deputy referenced. It is open to all.
Sentiment score: 0.18
Specifically, that is a matter for the Department of Social Protection. I am speaking to our remit, which is childcare provision and care for disability.
Sentiment score: 0.26