345. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps being taken to address recruitment and retention challenges in the early learning and childcare workforce, including pay, conditions and career progression; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53766/26]
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
349. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children with additional needs accessing early learning and childcare services in Cork city and county; the supports available under the access and inclusion model; the number of applications approved in each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53770/26]
198. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department intends to operate a fee increase assessment process for the programme year 2026/2027; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52255/26]
360. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on her plans to increase the numbers of early intervention classes nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51212/26]
675. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 485 and 486 of 28 May 2026, if room closures, rather than the service overall closure has any impact on core funding payable; if in the case of a multi-room service where different rooms close at different times, almost on rotation, whether this breached core funding rules, given the service rema…
689. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the amount set aside for the Sustainability Fund in her Department in each of the years since it was introduced; and the amount paid out in each of those years, in tabular form. [51889/26]
551. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department is engaged with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth regarding potential reforms to Garda vetting and safeguarding-disclosure arrangements in the Early Years sector; and if he will outline the status of any such engagement. [48848/26]
689. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider reducing the minimum entry age for children attending naíonraí, without altering eligibility for the ECCE scheme, in order to support enrolment and the sustainability of rural early years settings such as (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48847/26]
699. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the case of an early education centre (details supplied) which is in financial difficulty will be examined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49170/26]
702. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps being taken to address delays in the Garda vetting process, particularly for the early education and childcare sector, where providers report waiting up to eight weeks for vetting clearance for new employees; the impact these delays are having on services’ ability to meet statutory staff-to-child ratios and maintain capac…
412. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the gap in childcare provision affecting children who have completed their final year under the ECCE scheme, are due to commence primary school in late August, but are not currently classified as school-age children for the purposes of accessing school-age summer camp services; if she will review the cu…
10. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the actions being taken by her Department to support ECCE-only services that are receiving commercial rates bills; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47448/26]
64. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update in respect of the development of policy for immersive Irish-medium early years education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47344/26]
615. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has conducted, or is conducting, a review into early years professional terminology, given that there is a clear preference across the sector to use early childhood education and care in place of Early Learning and Care, as is custom internationally; the timeframe for the potential publication of such a review; and…
648. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the strategy in place to provide continuing professional development in the early years sector; the plans to expand CPD offerings for educators working in the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47838/26]
649. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the subject areas that are a priority for continuing professional development in the early years sector; the number of CPD fields of study that will be made available; the total budget figure that her Department has committed to the provision of CPD; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47839/26]
650. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps being taken to ensure continuing professional development is available across early years services statewide; if she accepts that widespread access to CPD is vital to the implementation of the Aistear framework and creating inclusive learning environments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47840/26]
651. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the verification and assurance process that is implemented in the Department to ensure that continuing professional development standards are met in the early years sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47841/26]
430. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1596 of 9 June 2026, if flexibility in terms of the eligibility for the ECCE scheme will be shown in the case of the person; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46456/26]
437. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated cost of providing an additional €10,000 to every naíonra in the State; the first year and full year cost of funding a year free of charge at an Irish-medium naíonra for every pre-school aged child living in the Gaeltacht currently availing of a pre-school service funded under the ECCE scheme; and the annual expenditur…
774. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has undertaken any review of the eligibility age criteria for the early childhood care and education scheme since 2020; the number of children who have missed eligibility for an ECCE programme year by less than seven days, 14 days and 30 days respectively, in each year since 2020; whether consideration has been giv…
789. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her proposals to address the issue of children born in January losing out on ECCE years due to the current age cut off point (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45383/26]
790. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration is being given to putting the entitlement to an ECCE place on a statutory footing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45393/26]
791. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration is being given to amending the rules around entry to ECCE schemes to permit greater flexibility around age of entry, on foot of the Independent Review of the ECCE programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45394/26]
792. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will follow through on its threat to withdraw NCS and ECCE for services that have left the core funding system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45395/26]