Topics / Childcare Services

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Childcare 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
MonthQuestions
January 202511
February 202562
March 202543
April 202571
May 202535
June 202570
July 202593
August 20250
September 202587
October 202541
November 2025155
December 202574
January 202671
February 202676
March 202655
April 202678
May 2026107
June 2026144
July 202664
August 20260
September 202638
October 202663

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.

  • 100% RDR2 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Aontú18 from 2 TDs · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil284 from 33 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael467 from 20 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party11 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent64 from 9 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Independent Ireland43 from 2 TDs · 4 seats today
  • Labour Party152 from 11 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity40 from 3 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin267 from 31 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.

  1. 130
  2. 88
  3. 70
  4. 69
  5. 47
  6. 40
  7. 36
  8. 33

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Joe Neville Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
845. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers of sessional services in Straffan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61106/25]
Joe Neville Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
846. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers of sessional services in Sallins; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61107/25]
Joe Neville Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
847. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers of sessional services in Caragh; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61108/25]
Joe Neville Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
848. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers of sessional services in Prosperous; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61109/25]
Peadar Tóibín Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
856. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to a press release issued by an organisation (details supplied) articulating a crisis in the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61313/25]
Grace Boland Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
868. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the Building Blocks Programme is on track to deliver the 1,500 new childcare places as announced in 2025; the reasons for any delays in delivery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61500/25]
Grace Boland Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
869. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider introducing a streamlined capital delivery mechanism for high-need areas, particularly where community providers face high barriers to entering or continuing in a geographical area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61501/25]
Grace Boland Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
870. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for updated benchmarking data on the average childcare costs, by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61502/25]
Grace Boland Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
871. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has assessed the economic impact of childcare constraints on workforce participation, particularly among women; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61503/25]
Grace Boland Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
872. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has assessed the economic impact of childcare constraints on workforce participation, particularly among women; if her Department has examined the broader implications of these constraints for the Irish economy; if any analysis has been undertaken to estimate the potential positive economic impact of increased female w…
Cathal Crowe Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
874. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to address the issues raised by an organisation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61507/25]
William Aird Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
877. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans and the timeframe for achieving a reduction in the average net cost of childcare to €200 per month per child under the national childcare scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61516/25]
William Aird Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
878. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the specific measures which will be introduced in the next twelve months to reduce childcare costs for families; the way in which he will ensure the quality of the sector is maintained while cost pressures ease for parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61517/25]
Seán Ó Fearghaíl Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
889. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will address the issues raised in a document from a Kildare childminding facility outlining their concerns about the childminding sector (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61755/25]
Frankie Feighan Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
893. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will engage with private childcare providers who avail of core funding from her Department on the issue of significant increased costs under the new obligations under the auto enrolment scheme. [61978/25]
Frankie Feighan Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
894. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality If she will consider increasing core funding rates to take into consideration the additional costs incurred by auto enrolment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61979/25]
Peadar Tóibín Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
900. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to review the current means tests for the national childcare scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62095/25]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Children
907. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for 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 in 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62219/25]
Paula Butterly Written 6 Nov 2025 · to Children
346. 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 nought to two years, which is preventing many parents, especially women, from returning to work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60506/25]
Emer Currie Written 6 Nov 2025 · to Children
366. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the system to track hours of attendance through the National Childcare Scheme will be revised, to give more flexibility to parents to be able to collect children early without being penalised by having their subsidies cut. [60808/25]
Emer Currie Written 6 Nov 2025 · to Children
367. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the percentage of community childcare services compared to overall childcare services in every county; and the reasons for variance. [60810/25]
Emer Currie Written 6 Nov 2025 · to Children
368. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the engagement or opportunity for feedback that takes place with services who leave Core Funding; to gather valuable learnings which could prevent other services from leaving, could encourage services to rejoin Core Funding, and could ultimately protect parents from fee hikes. [60811/25]
Emer Currie Written 6 Nov 2025 · to Children
369. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for the average weekly fee for childcare services in and out of core funding. [60812/25]
Emer Currie Written 6 Nov 2025 · to Children
370. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the means by which she intends to support parents who have been subjected to fee increases, whose provider has left core funding. [60813/25]
Emer Currie Written 6 Nov 2025 · to Children
372. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full-year cost of increasing the spending on childcare to 1% of GDP. [60816/25]