651. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding families with children in childcare centres that are not part of the core funding scheme; if they will benefit from the €550 cap per month as announced in Budget 2027. [72164/26]
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
652. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a list of all crèches in receipt of core funding in County Kildare. [72059/26]
655. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childminders that have engaged in the consultation process to date, both in submissions and questionnaire; her views on tweaking the the current regulations; her plans to on the back of this consultation; and if the timeline for registration is to be moved. [72029/26]
664. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare facilitators who are not in core funding by constituency/local authority. [72268/26]
665. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare facilitators who are in core funding by constituency/local authority. [72267/26]
495. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions she is taking to engage with a large childcare centre on its withdrawal from the core funding model (details supplied); and the actions she will take to support parents with the knock-on price increase. [69818/26]
497. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the policy measures in place to ensure that childcare capacity is maintained within communities where an existing early learning and childcare facility is affected by defective concrete; and the supports available to prevent the permanent loss of childcare places in such areas. [69739/26]
505. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the mechanisms in place to support families that have children in childcare centres that have withdrawn from the core funding scheme and the related knock-on increase in costs. [70030/26]
509. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the mechanisms in place to support families that have children in a childcare centre (details supplied) that has indicated that they are withdrawing from the core funding scheme and the related knock-on increase in costs. [70075/26]
510. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the withdrawal of a childcare centre from the core funding scheme (details supplied); and the steps her Department has taken to engage with the management of this facility to try and maintain their membership of the scheme. [70074/26]
512. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the assessments undertaken by her Department to plan for future childcare demand in the Kildare north constituency; and the metrics used to assess childcare demand and capacity in an area. [70110/26]
513. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures being taken to improve the affordability of childcare for families in the Kildare north constituency; and the level of Government support available to childcare providers and parents in the constituency. [70111/26]
526. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to confirm that she will permit the extension of a sponsored claim through the national childcare scheme which is due to expire on the 13 December 2026 for a child (details supplied). [70418/26]
156. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration will be given to providing flexibility or an exemption to parents with fixed shared-care arrangements under the National Childcare Scheme, so that children alternating between households can attend different childcare providers and retain their childcare place during periods of non-attendance, to ensure that eligib…
631. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current status of the Programme for Government commitment to bring home-based childcare within a regulated and grant-accessible framework. [68073/26]
637. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a breakdown of early years providers that are not in receipt of core funding, disaggregated by urban and rural location, and, where available, by county or province; and to set out the number of children and families affected in each area and where the impact of the lack of core funding is being felt most acutely by pare…
639. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will examine concerns raised by an early years provider (details supplied) regarding the new one-per-room restriction on AIM level seven maintenance of reduced ratio arrangements; and to clarify the policy and evidence-based rationale for the change and its operation in respect of existing AIM allocations. [68169/26]
657. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the national childcare scheme attendance and under attendance provisions are currently under review; whether greater flexibility is being considered for working families whose childcare needs remain unchanged but whose children may occasionally attend fewer hours due to family circumstances, extracurricular activities or parental l…
661. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the NCS attendance and under-attendance are currently being reviewed (details supplied). [68698/26]
424. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of registered childminders in their own home, by county, in each of the years 2023 to 2025 and to date in 2026. [67905/26]
428. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on the development of Shaping the Future Phase 2; and when it will be published in 2026. [67979/26]
139. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will urgently review (details supplied), given that the service remains in serious financial difficulty; if she will clarify whether documented personal funds contributed by a director to meet salaries, Revenue payments and essential running costs can be taken into account; whether the award can be reviewed or appealed and any …
488. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration has been given to creating a system that would allow for parents to be paid the NCS subsidy directly in cases whereby their choice of preschool or childcare centre is not signed up to this scheme and therefore they cannot benefit from it and must pay the full cost of the fees. [66428/26]
489. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration has been given to creating a system that would allow for parents to be paid the ECCE subsidy directly in cases whereby their choice of preschool or childcare centre is not signed up to this scheme and therefore they cannot benefit from it and must pay the full cost of the fees. [66427/26]
496. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the building blocks grant extension (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66582/26]