822. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of childcare providers eligible for core funding; and the estimated number of childcare providers operating outside of core funding. [73797/26]
Topics / Childcare Services
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsChildcare Services
1,438 questions from 125 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
1,438
questions
1,397 written, 41 oral
125
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
8
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 11 |
| February 2025 | 62 |
| March 2025 | 43 |
| April 2025 | 71 |
| May 2025 | 35 |
| June 2025 | 70 |
| July 2025 | 93 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 87 |
| October 2025 | 41 |
| November 2025 | 155 |
| December 2025 | 74 |
| January 2026 | 71 |
| February 2026 | 76 |
| March 2026 | 55 |
| April 2026 | 78 |
| May 2026 | 107 |
| June 2026 | 144 |
| July 2026 | 64 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 38 |
| October 2026 | 63 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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130
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88
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70
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69
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47
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40
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36
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33
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
823. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to address the situation that arises due to a lack of availability of childcare places whereby parents must join waiting lists during early pregnancy, without any guarantee of a place, and that such early application requirements create a situation whereby parents are more likely to have to notify providers of a pregnancy loss,…
824. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the proposed funding model for childcare services established under the State-led capital programme; whether the State will fund the full capital costs of acquisition, construction and fit-out; the ways ongoing operational costs, including staffing, maintenance, insurance and utilities, will be financed; and whether operators will receiv…
825. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the proposed fee-setting arrangements for childcare services established under the State-led capital programme; whether these services will be subject to the same maximum fee caps as existing core funding providers; and whether her Department intends to establish a separate or lower fee structure for State-led facilities. [73802/26]
826. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide the estimated capital expenditure for each of the seven proposed State-led early learning and childcare projects announced on 30 September 2026, in tabular form. [73805/26]
827. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department intends to develop a standardised national operating framework for facilities established under the State-led early learning and childcare capital programme; whether this framework will prescribe requirements relating to staffing, enrolment and admissions policies, parental fees, opening hours, service provision an…
828. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the process and criteria for selecting not-for-profit operators of facilities developed under the State-led early learning and childcare capital programme; and whether selection will be conducted through open competitive procurement or another process; the eligibility requirements for prospective operators. [73803/26]
830. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 66061/26 of 17 September 2026, for an update on the Department's investigation of this particular issue with Pobal; and for a timeline on a more detailed response to be issued to this person. [73919/26]
835. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps her Department will take to protect families whose childcare providers do not participate in core funding; whether alternative affordability measures or incentives could be introduced to encourage providers to rejoin the core funding scheme; and if her Department has considered ways in which parents can be protected from s…
840. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions she is taking to address the shortage of part-time childcare places available, forcing parents to pay for full-time fees, regardless of whether the full hours are required. [74232/26]
841. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any review of section 8.2/8.3.2 to allow certified extracurricular activities to count toward registered attendance hours under NCS attendance rules; and if she believes the current scheme disincentivises families to include their children in sporting or other afterschool activities. [74082/26]
842. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any review of the national childcare scheme particularly in relation to the lack of flexibility afforded to parents who choose not to take the full-time allotted due to differing working arrangements outside the traditional 9-5pm pattern. [74237/26]
848. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason the €550 cap for childcare refers to those receiving 48 weeks of supervision, rather than the 52 weeks that many families pay for. [74161/26]
849. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department can provide a breakdown of how many families in Kildare, who use core funding childcare, fall into each band from A to F in tabular form. [74135/26]
853. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the plans to include band F childcare families under core funding in the €550 cap announced in Budget 2027 from September of next year. [74138/26]
854. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason her Department announced under budget 2027 that there would be a €550 cap on childcare for families when it is only applicable to families who fall under band E or below and not for band F families with 50+ hours of childcare. [74137/26]
855. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of core funded creches in Kildare which fall into each of the bands A to F, in tabular form. [74136/26]
857. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childminders currently registered with Tusla in Cork city and Cork county, respectively; the number of childminders who have registered under the new regulatory framework; the measures being taken to encourage more childminders to register and provide additional childcare capacity; and if she will make a statement on the ma…
858. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently waiting for a place in a crèche or early learning and childcare service in Cork City and Cork County, respectively; the steps being taken to address the shortage of childcare places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74502/26]
859. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the amount of funding ring-fenced in the current budget to provide additional early learning and childcare places in Cork city and Cork county; the number of additional places this funding is expected to deliver; the timeline for making these places available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74504/26]
617. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions she is taking to engage with a childcare centre (details supplied) in relation to their withdrawal from the core funding model; and the actions she will take to support parents with the knock-on price increase. [71459/26]
637. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timeframe that a facility (details supplied) will be ready to take children for preschool care, being rolled out as part of the early learning and childcare capital projects. [71784/26]
638. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timeline for the publication of the national childcare scheme review; the reason the publication of the review has been delayed from the original scheduled time of Q3 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71805/26]
639. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children who availed of the early childhood care and education programme and the National Childcare Scheme in 2025 and in 2026 to date; the reason the Budget 2027 expenditure report projects almost 100,000 ECCE children compared with over 105,000 in Budget 2026; and how the projection of 293,000 NCS children, describ…
646. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the percentage of staff turnover, by county within the early years sector in 2025, in tabular form. [72034/26]