Early Childhood Care and Education

467. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to confirm the policy for the refund of deposits for ECCE places in childcare facilities; if these deposits should be refunded if a parent gives ample notice of intention to relocate the child to another facility commencing in September 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35909/26]

472. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports in place for new service providers of early years education and after school provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35975/26]

961. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the Building Blocks Grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34469/26]

964. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 2493 of 14 April 2026, if she will outline when local county childcare committees will receive funding for applications submitted under the early learning and childcare capital programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34472/26]

965. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a county-by-county breakdown of the number of city/county childcare committees currently in operation within the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34473/26]

967. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on progress in relation to the State's acquisition of childcare facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34475/26]

968. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare facilities the State has acquired in County Meath for the years 2020 to 2025, and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34476/26]

969. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline supports available to those who want to open new childcare services; if any new measures are being considered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34477/26]

423. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update in relation to a Naíonra (details supplied). [33765/26]

742. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average annual staff turnover rate of graduate lead educators working in Early Years services during the 2023/2024 programme year, on county-by-county basis, community /private employment and service size, in tabular form. [32142/26]

235. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will intervene to prevent the proposed closure of a school in Kildare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31176/26]

248. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to review the age restrictions on relevant ECCE years; and if any discretion can be exercised where a child is only a matter of hours too young to qualify for ECCE in a given term. [31408/26]

249. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will outline the reasons for closing a Naíonra in Kildare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31453/26]

250. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Naíonra funded by her Department, broken down by county, over the past four years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31454/26]

578. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Youth the views of parents of early years children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30347/26]

579. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Youth the views of parents whose children currently attend multi-denominational schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30348/26]

580. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Youth the criteria used to decide which responses from the National Primary School Survey were included in the reported outcomes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30349/26]

581. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will commit to releasing the full dataset, or a more detailed breakdown of responses, of the National Primary School Survey; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30351/26]

613. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children currently accessing supports under the access and inclusion model, including those attending ASD pre-school settings; the extent to which these figures are used to forecast demand for special education provision as they move to primary level; the measures in place to ensure sufficient provision of speci…

614. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has conducted, or plans to conduct, an analysis of trends in the early education and care access and inclusion model participation, and ASD pre-school enrolments, to inform forward planning for primary school supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30825/26]

919. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 2493 of 14 April 2026, to outline the appraisal tools that have been developed in order to select projects that align with programme objectives; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29673/26]

920. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 2493 of 14 April 2026, the quarter of 2026 in which decisions will be made on the specific projects agreed upon under the early learning and childcare capital programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29674/26]

923. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current status of childcare facilities which are providing childcare under the ECCE scheme, who are now required to pay commercial rates to their relevant local authority; if her Department has had any engagement with local authorities on this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29730/26]

142. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of early learning and care facilities built as part of large developments that are not utilised for that purpose in Dublin city; if this is information which her Department holds, whether she intends that the new forward planning and delivery unit will gather this information given its vital nature in …

163. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the review of the 2001 planning guidelines for local authorities on early learning and childcare settings, in order to increase childcare supply; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29074/26]