2388. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress being made to ensure the Review of Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare operating system in Ireland will be ready for publication in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42168/25]
Topics / Early Childhood Care and Education
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsEarly Childhood Care and Education
521 questions from 96 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
521
questions
506 written, 15 oral
96
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
9
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 | 2 |
| February 2025 | 20 |
| March 2025 | 23 |
| April 2025 | 21 |
| May 2025 | 24 |
| June 2025 | 7 |
| July 2025 | 37 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 32 |
| October 2025 | 27 |
| November 2025 | 46 |
| December 2025 | 26 |
| January 2026 | 37 |
| February 2026 | 52 |
| March 2026 | 27 |
| April 2026 | 60 |
| May 2026 | 26 |
| June 2026 | 23 |
| July 2026 | 11 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 12 |
| October 2026 | 8 |
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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57
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33
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28
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22
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20
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19
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17
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15
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
2412. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timeline for the establishment of the National Agency for Early Learning and Childcare; the interim measures being taken to address the affordability crisis in childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42546/25]
2451. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality given the Government’s commitment to expanding affordable and accessible early education and school age childcare, if she will outline the role her Department is playing in coordinating with the National Development Plan to ensure the delivery of public childcare facilities as part of strategic housing developments on publicly own…
2452. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an update of any planned or ongoing review of core funding for the early childhood education and care sector; whether the review will address concerns regarding sustainability, staffing costs and capacity pressures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43116/25]
2488. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has engaged with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on ensuring that enough early years educators are trained and qualified to meet the need for early years education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43608/25]
2489. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department keeps statistics on the opening and closure of early years education and childcare settings; and if she will provide these figures broken down monthly, by local authority, and by capacity, for the past three years, in tabular form. [43609/25]
2490. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Irish-medium early years services in operation, by local authority and capacity, in tabular form. [43610/25]
2507. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the additional funding required to increase funding for the ECCE scheme by 10%; if she will provide a breakdown of those proposed new funding levels, in tabular form; when funding for ECCE was last increased; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44056/25]
2533. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration will be given to allocating funding for after-school facilities as part of the National Development Plan Review 2025; for a breakdown of figures regarding same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44359/25]
104. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Youth if there is any intention within the Department to progress the development of guidelines and additional supports for schools on supporting transitions of children as they move from early years to junior infants, including the extension of AIM supports into primary education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40077/25]
482. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports, including capital or operational funding, planned for voluntary early-years providers in Dublin south central, particularly those facing rising costs. [40310/25]
484. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide a breakdown of changes in the number of preschools every year for the past ten years, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40344/25]
639. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will introduce a system for privately employed playschool workers who must sign on for social welfare payments each time they are temporarily unemployed for school holidays, to allow their claims to be suspended and reactivated, rather than them having to make a new claim each time which can involve delays in receiving payments, if he will co…
816. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason an early learning centre in Tullow County Carlow (details supplied) was declined for a fee increase. [39073/25]
844. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timelines for AIM funding decisions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39646/25]
139. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the provisions being put in place for a child (details supplied) and other children with special needs who have lost access to after-school care due to the closure of a nearby facility and who are now being refused access to the privately-run after-school service at another location; and if she will make a statement on the matter. […
734. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if there are plans to expand the access and inclusion model to include children attending afterschool provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37463/25]
747. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the amount of money allocated for pay for early years educators as part of core funding annually since its inception, and the corresponding amount used per pay agreement, in tabular form. [37731/25]
749. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timeline for processing applications for AIM Level 7; if this has been reviewed recently; if not, whether timelines will be reviewed with input from providers on their experience of the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37763/25]
750. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if any measures are in place for reimbursement of childcare providers that cover the cost of AIM support staff from private funding before applications are approved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37764/25]
751. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is concerned that a naíonra (details supplied) in County Waterford is currently accommodated in an old and deteriorating prefabricated building; and if her Department has a plan in place to fund new and appropriate accommodation for this naíonra. [37821/25]
324. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average waiting time for access to the ECCE scheme places per county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36704/25]
329. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department will investigate a matter (details supplied) and urgently advise of the reason for such a disparity of services between Cork and Kerry; if Kerry's children are not as equally deserving of crucial early intervention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35190/25]
632. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the significant shortfall in early years childcare provision in Boyle, County Roscommon (details supplied); if funding or support will be made available to develop suitable premises for additional childcare services in the area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35308/25]
312. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason there is only one speech and language therapist (SLT) working in the early intervention services team in Nenagh, County Tipperary and if there are any plans to increase that number as that SLT has to cover all of the north Tipperary area. [35162/25]