Early Childhood Care and Education

387. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children who are registered for ECCE for the years 2025-2026; the percentage of the total number of children registered for early years and school age childcare for the 2025-2026 programme year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52628/25]

388. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children who are registered for ECCE year two for the 2025-2026 programme; the percentage of the total number of children registered for early years and school age childcare for the 2025-2026 programme year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52629/25]

389. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has engaged with early years providers regarding possible changes to the daily time allocated to the ECCE programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52630/25]

390. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has engaged with early years providers regarding possible changes to the daily time allocated to the ECCE programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52631/25]

391. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the details of the new maximum childcare fee cap for learning and childcare services, to include details on when the fee cap will be rolled out; the process for parents to apply; the qualifying criteria, if this is means tested, and what parents need to do to register for this cap; and if she will make a s…

392. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will prioritise the provision of community based, not-for-profit early education and school age childcare services in public buildings, such as schools, over corporate, for-profit providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52672/25]

395. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the amount of equipment issued under AIMS in 2024, and for the first eight months of 2025; the type of equipment issued, and time it took to for the equipment to be issued; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52796/25]

399. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when exactly early years services will receive the additional supports committed to them on foot of the reduction in the fee cap from 1 September 2025; and if such support will be backdated to 1 September. [52809/25]

401. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of pre-school places in each county in 2020 to 2024 and to date in 2025; and her definition of pre-school in terms of age. [52855/25]

402. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of school age childcare places in each county in 2020 to 2024 and to date in 2025; and her definition of pre-school in terms of age. [52856/25]

795. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the eligibility criteria for a child to participate in the free early childhood care and education scheme; and the hourly or weekly rate payable to providers that deliver service under the scheme. [51900/25]

796. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the Access and Inclusion Mode (AIM) has been extended beyond ECCE years; the range of services which are available within ECCE under AIM; the range of services that are now on offer for other childcare settings; and the way in which the number of children served under each element of the programme has grown as a…

811. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1013 of 17 September 2025, to clarify an issue (details provided) regarding the building blocks extension grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52006/25]

815. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will expand AIMS to support school age care in afterschool, as recommended by the recent evaluation, in Budget 2026 to ensure a level of support for children with additional needs is retained post-ECCE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52076/25]

160. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will urgently address the ongoing disparity in pay, entitlements, and working conditions between early childhood educators and primary school teachers; the timeline for implementing full pay parity and professional recognition for early years educators, particularly those with level eight qualifications work…

31. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the proportion of early learning and care and school-age childcare services that have signed up for the fourth year of core funding to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50094/25]

41. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps being taken to ensure that early childhood care and education providers are adequately resourced and supported to fully include children with additional needs; if additional funding, staff training, and inclusion supports are being provided to meet the commitments set out in the Joint Oireachtas Committee's 2…

49. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if he will consider reviewing existing capacity in community centres; if he will consider expanding existing community centres into multi-use spaces to offer not-for-profit community childcare functions such as but not limited to: creches, montessori's, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs where there is additional …

50. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the supports she is providing for crèches and early years educators to purchase Irish language learning materials. [50163/25]

52. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress to-date on development of the national plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the Early Learning and Care and school-age childcare; the timeline for the publication of the plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49956/25]

53. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has plans to increase the capital threshold under the building blocks programme. [49911/25]

64. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports she is providing crèches in rural areas with lower populations. [50164/25]

67. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the Action Plan for Administrative and Regulatory Simplification for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50107/25]

70. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has assessed whether current core funding allocations are adequate to support the sustainability of baby rooms, given the higher staffing ratios required for children under one year of age and the high demand for places in this age group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49904/25]

71. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures she is taking to address the shortage of childcare places in County Meath; when she will deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to provide State-owned services where gaps exist; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49706/25]