338. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when meaningful progress will be made on the childcare cost commitments made by all major parties during the 2024 general election, particularly regarding the promised reduction to a cap of €50 per week; and the specific steps being taken to honour these commitments and provide relief to families facing high childc…
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
84. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the national childcare website does not list fees for childcare providers for the year 2021; if her Department will rectify this as matter of urgency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21091/25]
91. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeframe in which she intends to reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21004/25]
92. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide the number of access and inclusion model childcare places provided since 2020, by county, in tabular form; the actions she is taking to increase places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20982/25]
94. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the uptake in the building blocks extension grant scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20291/25]
100. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures being taken to ensure childcare facilities delivered through housing developments made operational and accessible to providers at viable rates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20771/25]
110. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the means by which she is helping to improve salary levels in the childcare sector given the importance of the sector to society; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20797/25]
111. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will provide an update regarding the before five childcare application and if a decision will be made by Pobal shortly in relation to funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20944/25]
116. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she is aware of the shortage of childcare services in the wider Glanmire area; her plans to help increase capacity in same, to ensure that families have access to affordable childcare in the short term; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20945/25]
131. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress to date in delivering on the commitment of capping childcare costs at €200 per month per child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20292/25]
136. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current capacity of childcare services in Kildare north; her plans to increase the number of childcare facilities in Kildare north; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20976/25]
138. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on progress to date on the provision of capital investment for the construction or purchase of State-owned childcare facilities; whether strategic investment in childcare facilities will be sufficiently expanded under the revised National Development Plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. …
141. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will outline the steps being taken to entice childcare providers who have exited core funding back into core funding, thereby ensuring the fee cap is maintained for the benefit of all parents; if she will provide a forum for engagement with childcare providers who have exited core funding; and if she will m…
149. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth her proposals to deliver affordable childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21005/25]
150. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps she is taking to ensure Programme for Government commitments to provide capital investment to build or purchase State-owned childcare facilities and create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exist, are delivered; if this will be a priority as part of the forthcoming NDP review; and if she will mak…
152. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she agrees that childcare providers’ administrative burden is too high; if she can detail the steps she will take to alleviate that burden, particularly for smaller providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20998/25]
157. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the expected timeline for reducing the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child through the national childcare scheme, as outlined in the Programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20977/25]
1778. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will provide clarity on the mechanism for the roll out of the 45million euro that has been ringfenced for wages; and the way in which it will be distributed in the context of pay in the childcare provider sector. [21094/25]
1779. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of childcare providers who have withdrawn from core funding since 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21092/25]
1782. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in the context of plans to lower the cost of childcare to €200 per month over the lifetime of the Government, if she will outline what supports are available in the short term to childcare service users who face fee hikes due to their crèche having withdrawn from the core funding scheme. [18517/25]
1835. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the amount funding has been allocated for administration under core funding; the supports available to childcare providers to help with compliance with the financial reporting requirement; and the case management support that is available to providers in difficulty. [19288/25]
1837. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if her Department will examine issues related to the lack of flexibility in the national childcare scheme, particularly in cases where parents such as teachers are charged additional fees for childcare services they do not use or require; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19319/25]
1840. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of naionraí outside the Gaeltacht areas. [19356/25]
1849. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how often naíonraí are inspected by TUSLA and her Department. [19501/25]
1856. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the breakdown in quintiles of the percentage cost of wages for the following type of private early childhood and school age services, multi-service provider, full-time, part time, sessional and afterschool, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19760/25]