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

Michael Collins Written 17 Sep 2025 · to Children
1076. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of early years services, excluding child minders, which are on the Tusla register in September 2025. [48255/25]
Michael Collins Written 17 Sep 2025 · to Children
1077. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of early years services, excluding child minders, in existence before the core funding partnership started in September 2021. [48256/25]
Martin Daly Written 17 Sep 2025 · to Children
1087. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the capital funding supports available to enable the development of new early years facilities in communities with no existing provision; and if his Department will consider supporting community-led or social enterprise models. [48572/25]
David Cullinane Written 17 Sep 2025 · to Children
1109. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will ensure that a Montessori operating an inclusive model of education and care (details supplied) is not forced to reduce services due to funding constraints; and that this Montessori is not forced to abandon an inclusive model of care in favour of mainstream or special status which would exclude some of the children curren…
Michael Cahill Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Housing
1185. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are any fast-track or alternative planning mechanisms for urgently needed childcare and preschool services, particularly in rural or underserved areas in Kerry. [45454/25]
John Lahart Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1885. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures in place to stop childcare providers from withdrawing from core funding, the reason there are no emergency measures to support families impacted by provider withdrawal; whether the national childcare scheme will be revised to reflect the actual market cost of childcare; the progress on a public childcare model that would of…
Ken O'Flynn Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1895. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if Budget 2026 will include targeted investment to reduce childcare costs, given recent reports showing that average childcare payments now exceed mortgage repayments in most urban areas; and the projected fiscal cost of implementing a universal childcare cap or subsidy model. [44937/25]
Roderic O'Gorman Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1898. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will include in the 2026-2027 core funding contract, new rules to regulate childcare deposits that would stipulate a maximum deposit equivalent to no more than two weeks’ fees at the time of booking, that the balance of the standard deposit (maximum of up to one month’s fees) would be collected no earlier than eight months b…
Michael Healy-Rae Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1901. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the action that will be taken to tackle the core funding scheme for childcare being so dysfunctional (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45095/25]
Ken O'Flynn Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1904. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality following implementation of the September 2025 fee cap, if she will provide details of the maximum capped fees by hours band including the €295 week cap for 40–50 hours; the compliance and enforcement regime; the expected coverage share of services and children; and any sanctions for breach (details supplied). [45124/25]
Ken O'Flynn Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1905. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to publish modelling by decile of household income and typical hours of parents net costs in September 2025 combining the new caps with NCS universal that is €2.14/hour up to 45 hours; and income-assessed subsidies up to €5.10/hour (details supplied). [45125/25]
Paul Murphy Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1944. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether evaluation has taken place regarding the implementation of the Irish food allergy network’s guidance about best practices in childcare settings. [45576/25]
John McGuinness Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1946. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps she is taking to alleviate the worsening childcare crisis in Kilkenny-Carlow (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45596/25]
John McGuinness Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1947. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if a childcare place for a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny will be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45630/25]
Barry Ward Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1948. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in view of the gradual reduction of childcare costs as committed to in the Programme for Government, the steps she has taken to progress this policy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45639/25]
Barry Ward Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1963. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of parents with children attending a nursery (details supplied); the actions she will take to engage with management of this childcare centre on these concerns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46007/25]
Jen Cummins Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1965. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to ensure that creches adhere to the cap on childcare fees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46016/25]
Jen Cummins Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1966. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to support childcare providers in the administrative burden in accessing Government funding in the national childcare scheme. [46017/25]
Jen Cummins Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1967. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers that have left the national childcare scheme since the announcement of the childcare fee cap, in tabular form. [46018/25]
Jen Cummins Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1968. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers in Dublin south central that have left the national childcare scheme since the announcement of the childcare fee cap, in tabular form. [46019/25]
Sean Fleming Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1973. Deputy Seán Fleming asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to deal with the situation where a parents parental leave is over but there are no childcare places available for very young children (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46168/25]
Ken O'Flynn Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1977. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will urgently review the adequacy of supports for community-based childcare services in light of the closure of a service (details supplied) in Midleton, County Cork; the actions she intends to take to prevent further closures of early years services nationally; if she accepts that's the current funding and policy measures are fa…
Aidan Farrelly Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1984. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare settings that have withdrawn from the core funding scheme and the number that have signed up to core funding scheme, in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46372/25]
Sorca Clarke Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
1991. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the status of the provision of childcare places under the NCS in Athlone, in particular for children with urgent developmental needs; the steps being taken to ensure that approved NCS beneficiaries are not left without access to creche facilities, including any emergency childcare measures; and if she will make a statement on the matte…
Grace Boland Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Children
2010. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of public childcare providers operational in north county Dublin; the plans to expand the network to this area which is one of the youngest and fastest growing areas in the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47087/25]