Questions

702. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps being taken to address delays in the Garda vetting process, particularly for the early education and childcare sector, where providers report waiting up to eight weeks for vetting clearance for new employees; the impact these delays are having on services’ ability to meet statutory staff-to-child ratios and maintain capac…

800. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a breakdown, by individual early learning and care and school-age childcare services, of the total core funding payments made under the scheme in year three and year four, showing the amount received by each service in each year respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45729/26]

806. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether funding under the early learning and care and school-age childcare schemes will continue to be paid to early education and care services that are required to close temporarily due to a water outage, where the service cannot operate in compliance with Tusla regulations (details supplied) because of the lack of water supply; …

1674. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of early learning and childcare providers who applied for and received support under the Sustainability Fund linked to Core Funding in each of the years 2023, to date 2026; the number of applications refused or withdrawn in the same period; the total value of funding allocated under the scheme; the breakdown, by county …

935. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration will be given to reviewing the core funding policy in circumstances where a new provider takes over an already established early education and care service and fee increases arise; whether such cases can be assessed on an individual basis to ensure the ongoing financial viability of the service, while also saf…

613. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children currently accessing supports under the access and inclusion model, including those attending ASD pre-school settings; the extent to which these figures are used to forecast demand for special education provision as they move to primary level; the measures in place to ensure sufficient provision of special needs assistants,…

614. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has conducted, or plans to conduct, an analysis of trends in the early education and care access and inclusion model participation, and ASD pre-school enrolments, to inform forward planning for primary school supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30825/26]

754. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether providers delivering the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme only, are liable for commercial rates; to indicate if any assessment has been undertaken regarding the financial sustainability of ECCE-only services in light of commercial rates and other overhead costs; to clarify whether services who are permitt…

902. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average percentage increase in pay for the lowest paid early years staff that is, those earning within the first quintile of the pay distribution between 2022 (pre-ERO) and 2025 (the most recent ERO), for each staff grade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14984/26]

499. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm that community-based, not-for-profit early years services are exempt from commercial rates; the guidance provided to local authorities to ensure that such community services are treated consistently with regard to rates liability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65980/25]

500. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that Tailte Éireann has recently contacted community-based, not-for-profit early years services in Waterford indicating that they may be liable for commercial rates; if he will clarify Government policy regarding the rates status of such community services; if he will engage with Tailte Éireann and local authori…

392. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will prioritise the provision of community based, not-for-profit early education and school age childcare services in public buildings, such as schools, over corporate, for-profit providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52672/25]

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…

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 …

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]

2451. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality given the Government’s commitment to expanding affordable and accessible early education and school age childcare, if she will outline the role her Department is playing in coordinating with the National Development Plan to ensure the delivery of public childcare facilities as part of strategic housing developments on publicly own…

2452. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an update of any planned or ongoing review of core funding for the early childhood education and care sector; whether the review will address concerns regarding sustainability, staffing costs and capacity pressures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43116/25]

1801. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide details of the average rates of pay for each grade or role within the early childhood education and care sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18791/25]

1932. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she is aware of the growing frustration among a union (details supplied) and early years educators due to the lack of progress on the new employment regulation order; if she has engaged with the employer representatives on the Joint Labour Committee to stress the urgency of concluding this process; the actio…

175. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will outline the Government's plan to introduce a maximum fee of €200 for early childhood and education places; how her Department intends to manage this fee reduction; and what measures will be in place to support providers to implement this while maintaining quality and ensuring affordability for parent…