will be published in the coming weeks.
The Deputy referenced strategic outcomes 10 and 4. Strategic outcome 10 refers to access to quality childcare, education and health services. The Government has allocated €795 million to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and €9.25 billion to the Department
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In debates
Minister of State were in that room deciding this policy without any evidence, did they consider that these working people might also have childcare and afterschool needs? They might want to put themselves in a position where they could save for the deposit for rent
impact it is having on the economy, because people are being squeezed. They are being squeezed by extortionate rents, rip-off insurance costs, childcare costs that are out of control and the cost of food, to the point that there is nothing left over. This has a knock
contribute so much to the economy and society in which we live. When workers are able to live, make ends meet, afford childcare, afford housing and pay their electricity bills, it is a sign of a strong, functioning economy, one that works for the people who live
because of the Government.
We have not discussed the energy credits that the Government did not provide. It has failed to deliver the childcare it promised within a hundred days. It has reneged on the commitment to carers to abolish the means test. All the Finance Bill does
Government could have backed families struggling with energy bills, abolished the means test for carers, introduced a cost-of-disability payment, reduced childcare costs and lifted 40,000 children out of poverty but it chose not to do that
stability that families and businesses depend on today. I also recognise that the programme for Government outlines progress on issues such as reducing childcare costs and college fees and removing the means test for the carer's allowance over multiple budgets. While these are longer term commitments
which is inadequate to meet the real needs of communities on so many fronts, including the cost of living crisis, the housing crisis, childcare and climate. This infrastructure in this jurisdiction has suffered from the hegemony of the two-party system of the past century. We often
approved by the Teaching Council. Unfortunately, that system is not as speedy as it should be. While the AIM staff are qualified childcare workers, they have had no training in special education provision. Most of the time, according to a mother I spoke to, the children are left
Fáil are happy to just sit back and let households get hammered. It is not just energy, either. It is food, rent, insurance, childcare. Costs are already through the roof and households are now facing the hardest price squeeze in 18 months.
The Tánaiste will have heard from
today or who are changing their working hours or working arrangements, not out of choice but out of a lack of access to childcare in a way that works for them, their working patterns and their lives and families. It is a social and economic issue that disproportionately
current enrolment of 1,400 pupils, 93 staff and over 70 courses in key areas we have identified, namely, healthcare, social care, education, childcare and science, with an array of pre-university courses for students to transfer on to Maynooth University, to the echnological university
left living in crumbling homes without any hope.
The impact of this crisis goes far beyond homes with defective concrete blocks. Schools, childcare facilities and community centres are all affected by this crisis - all left behind and abandoned by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments. Deputies need
have a euro to spare. I was contacted recently by another mother. Her husband works full time. She says the unaffordable cost of childcare prevents her from working. She wrote to me, stating:
Our ESB bill became so high over the past two years that we were left
promises on issues like the cost of living, giving ordinary workers a break in their income tax, abolishing student fees and delivering affordable childcare. Those big election promises were all broken in last week's budget, a budget in which the Government bragged, as it has done again
will impact the most vulnerable in our society, namely carers, those with disabilities, the elderly and families struggling to make ends meet with childcare costs, etc. This Government will be judged on how it deals with the most vulnerable
would now be better off not working. That is a shocking assessment. They spoke of how there was no increase in child benefit, childcare fees were remaining at approximately €800 per month or more, there was no tax relief for workers and local property tax was going
what is staring them in the face: no break on their income tax, no increase in the renters' credit, no cut in childcare fees, no increase in child benefit and no cost-of-living package, but the Government could find the money for sweetheart tax breaks for developers
crèches, which are being built on public land or being run from public buildings, would be a voluntary, not-for-profit or community childcare facility
that the Department of education is not sufficiently focused on wider capital development needs in a broader sense, including sports facilities, canteen facilities, childcare co-location and safe access points for school goers. In particular, there is a severe - I do not use this word lightly - lack
childcare costs within 100 days
Minister, Deputy Foley and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is an important step forward and will make a real difference.
On childcare, we have taken a number of measures. The commitment was to produce a plan within 100 days. All these things were going to be done
Tánaiste promised to cut childcare fees
Tánaiste has broken promises on fees, childcare, child poverty
rural Ireland. It is also just one of a number of measures. The budget allocated a hell of a lot more to childcare, disability, education and health than it did to this measure. In addition, we have also taken very important measures to protect those most in need
In parliamentary questions
Seán Ó Fearghaíl
Written
Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will address concerns regarding the escalating cost of childcare, raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63356/25
Malcolm Byrne
Written
Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the National Plan for Provision of Irish in Early Years Childcare; the likely publication date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63576/25
Emer Currie
Written
Children, Disability and Equality the progress that has been made over the past 12 months on each Programme for Government commitment relating to childcare, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63656/25
Emer Currie
Written
Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the Action Plan on Childcare, which is a key priority in the Programme for Government, will be published; if she will outline in detail the work that has been undertaken by her Department since the Government
Aisling Dempsey
Written
Dempsey asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider excluding domiciliary care allowance from reckonable income for the national childcare scheme subsidy; and the immediate steps his Department will take to support affected families in the meantime; and if she will make a statement
John Brady
Written
Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers receiving core funding for each year between 2022-2025, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63785/25
John Brady
Written
Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers that have withdrawn from core funding for each year between 2022-2025, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63786/25
Grace Boland
Written
asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department has collaborated with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality to align childcare policy with labour market needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62169/25
Malcolm Byrne
Written
Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures in place to support childcare facilities in transitioning to using renewable sources of energy. [62613/25
Claire Kerrane
Oral
future of their childminding service, and the impact that childminders leaving the sector would have given the already severe lack of childcare capacity; if she will meet with an organisation (details supplied) which represents childminders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61735/25
Roderic O'Gorman
Oral
with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage with respect to changing or improving planning rules to ensure delivery of childcare facilities in housing developments; the progress she can report on this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61618/25
Mark Wall
Oral
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has addressed the IT issue whereby historical fee data was unavailable on the national childcare scheme website; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61745/25
Paula Butterly
Oral
Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to address the shortage of early childcare places, particularly for children between the age of 0 to two years which is preventing many parents, especially women, from returning to work; and if she will make a statement
Michael Cahill
Written
Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures taken to address the huge shortage of childcare places in the whole of County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61584/25
Roderic O'Gorman
Written
number of facilities planned to be purchased in 2026; if it is her intention to move forward with a public model of childcare delivery as a significant proportion of overall availability in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61617/25
Claire Kerrane
Written
Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on the action plan on childcare, early years; the stage that it is at; when it will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61491/25
Edward Timmins
Written
Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the amount of funding provided to childcare service providers under the Core Funding model each year since its introduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61580/25
Emer Currie
Written
Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on tackling the issues of non-refundable deposits in childcare services. [61906/25
Claire Kerrane
Written
Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the means by which she intends to tackle the severe shortage of childcare places across the State; the means by which she intends to quickly build capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter
Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh
Written
Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures being taken to increase supply and affordability of childcare in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61620/25
Brendan Smith
Written
will outline the scheme or schemes of grant aid that will be available in 2026 for the upgrading or provision of new childcare accommodation, both for community providers and private providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61588/25
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Written
Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to ensure that childcare providers participate in the core funding scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61294/25
Joe Neville
Written
Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the work her Department is undertaking to improve transparency in childcare fees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61902/25
Michael Murphy
Written
Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to ensure adequate childcare places and staffing in south Tipperary, particularly in rural areas where providers are struggling to retain staff and meet demand despite the introduction of core funding supports; and if she will
Naoise Ó Muirí
Written
Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare service providers that have withdrawn from the core funding model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61497/25
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