Early Childhood Care and Education

551. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will honour the State’s commitment to promote the Irish language by implementing a rights-based approach to Irish-medium immersion early childhood education and care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27367/25]

552. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an official definition of Naíonra; if she will clarify if this is an Irish immersion education setting that operates through the Irish language only; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27368/25]

553. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will explore the possibility of developing a public directory for Irish-medium preschool services, Naíonraí, in order that parents can access their local setting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27369/25]

331. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if funding options are available from her Department, or any agency under the aegis of her Department, to support persons who wish to establish a pre-school business; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26453/25]

304. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions her Department has taken to support Irish speaking early years childcare settings and to increase the number of these settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25059/25]

961. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the shortage of school places in the Glasthule area in Dublin; the work being done by her Department to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23517/25]

962. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions she is taking to address the shortage of afterschool places in the Dublin region, if any research is ongoing into the need to increase this provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23518/25]

965. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the supports being provided to people working in early years and afterschool care services to ensure fair pay and working conditions and encourage people to maintain and take up new employment in this sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23553/25]

384. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review the eligibility in the ECCE scheme for a child (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23063/25]

329. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to address the urgent need to increase the wages of early childhood educators (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21872/25]

86. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update regarding the way in which she has initiated the lowering of the cost of childcare in the State since she took office as Minister; and the steps she has taken for broader reform of the childcare model. [21093/25]

87. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on ongoing pay talks for early years educators. [21194/25]

88. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth her views on the €45 million allocated under budget 2025 to support further increases to the minimum rates of pay in the childcare sector. [20553/25]

89. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when she expects the planned review of core funding to take place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20772/25]

90. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to confirm the staff retention rates among early years educators for the past five years; the actions being taken to improve staff retention in the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20975/25]

97. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps being taken to develop a career path in the childcare sector in view of the staff turnover rates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20433/25]

1801. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide details of the average rates of pay for each grade or role within the early childhood education and care sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18791/25]

1878. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the investment by the Government into the early years sector in recent years; the plans for investment in 2025 and beyond; if additional core funding is being considered for the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20168/25]

1897. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she is aware that providers are having to withdraw from the core funding scheme for early learning and care and school age childcare (details supplied); if she is considering a review of the core funding scheme and increasing the funding provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter…

1932. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she is aware of the growing frustration among a union (details supplied) and early years educators due to the lack of progress on the new employment regulation order; if she has engaged with the employer representatives on the Joint Labour Committee to stress the urgency of concluding thi…

1965. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide a timeline for the Programme for Government commitment to review and increase core funding, ensuring the fee cap is maintained and that the model is open, transparent and equitable, and that the early years educators in the private sector benefits from Employment Regulation Orders. […

1966. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the Programme for Government commitment to undertake a broad consultation and publish a detailed action plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and case system with State-led facilities adding capacity. [21196/25]

1967. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the Programme for Government commitment to progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child through the national childcare scheme and explore options to cap costs for larger families. [21197/25]

1970. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she is aware of a recent media report (details supplied) suggesting that negotiations for an employment regulation order for the early years and school age care sector have stalled and the impact that this is having on staff recruitment and retention, if she will provide an update on this; and if…

1971. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated cost of bringing early years graduates - only NFQ Level 7, 8 and 9 - under public-sector pay and conditions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21255/25]