Questions

1863. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when she will publish the findings and recommendations of the Advisory Group on Administrative and Regulatory Simplification for the Early Years Sector, which met during 2023 and 2024; to outline the actions that have been or will be taken on foot of the group’s work to reduce the administrative burden on providers; and if she wil…

1906. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the additional core funding provision being made to offset the sectoral pay floor increase to €15 an hour and related grade uplifts; and to provide her Department’s estimate of the marginal cost per full-time place. [45126/25]

1907. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide details of the quarterly dashboards showing average gross fees by county and care type; the average net fees after subsidy and participation rates in core funding, drawing on the Pobal Early Years Data Warehouse. [45127/25]

1920. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will reverse the new ECCE compliance requirement, introduced on 10 June 2025, obliging providers to store children’s PPSN details for one year considering the PPSN's are not required once a child is registered in The Hive, and the requirement increases the risk of unnecessary data breaches; and if she will make a statement …

1959. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has considered the introduction of specific incentives, such as bursaries, training supports, or targeted recruitment campaigns, to encourage more men to enter the early years and preschool education sector, where there are critical staffing shortages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45947/25]

1969. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality is she aware of the reason a company (details supplied) withdrew from Government funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46020/25]

1988. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the case of an early education centre (details supplied) which is in financial difficulty will be examined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46542/25]

1994. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the date on which she will publish an action plan for the reform of the early education and childcare sector; and if she has been provided with an update on the consultation and-or a draft of the plan to date. [46657/25]

2008. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a list of early years and school age childcare services that have withdrawn from the core funding scheme; the number and percentage of services that have signed up to the scheme to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47083/25]

2015. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the financial hardship experienced by Early Years Educators during the summer period, and if she will outline any measures being considered to support these workers during period of income loss; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47177/25]

2016. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration will be given to establishing a more stable income support mechanism for Early Years Educators during seasonal employment gaps; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47179/25]

2017. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the scope of the public consultation for the proposed detailed action plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early years childhood education and care system with State-led facilities; if the provision of a publicly funded and publicly managed early years and school age care system will be included; and if she will make a…

2283. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide a breakdown of funding allocated for new or expanded early years services in the Dublin 3, 5, 9, 13 and 17 areas. [41160/25]

2296. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will allocate €10 million to establish local, publicly run early childhood, education and care services, beginning with areas and communities that are currently not served and experiencing high concentrations of disadvantage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41202/25]

2307. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware that Kerry has an early years staff turnover rate of 25%, above the national average; and the measures she intends to take to improve staff retention in the sector in rural counties like Kerry. [41365/25]

2308. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider aligning the pay and working conditions of early years and school age care graduates with those of primary school teachers; and if so, the timelines and mechanisms under review to achieve this. [41366/25]

2309. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports being provided to early childhood education providers in Kerry, to maintain a qualified and consistent workforce, in light of high turnover rates. [41367/25]

2310. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the role her Department has played in engaging with stakeholders (details supplied) in the lead-up to Budget 2026; and whether their recommendations on pay parity and staff retention are being considered. [41368/25]

2311. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if his Department has costed the proposal to align pay for early years and school age care professionals with that of primary school teachers; and if so, the estimated annual cost of same. [41369/25]

2312. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if additional resources will be allocated in Budget 2026 to support the staffing and sustainability of early years education services in rural counties such as Kerry. [41370/25]

2323. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to introduce pay parity for early years and school age care graduates (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41411/25]

2327. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will address the issue whereby recommendations from speech and language therapists who are registered with CORU, but operate privately and not directly under or on behalf of HSE services, are not accepted for accessing funding under AIM level 5; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41480/25]

2328. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if a second additional year of ECCE will be made available to a child (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41483/25]

2347. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is concerned that early years educators are having difficulty accessing mortgages due to having to sign on to jobseekers during the summer months; if she is considering any measures to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41836/25]

2382. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if a crèche place for a child (details supplied) will be made available; to outline any interventions that can be made for the family; the steps being taken to address crèche place shortages in North Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42143/25]