Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 July 2023
219. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will outline the progress made since 2020 to expand childcare provision for children under one year old; the steps he will take in budget 2024 to address availability and affordability for the same group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34542/23]
View answerThe availability of high-quality early learning and childcare is a key Government priority. My Department monitors early learning and childcare capacity on an ongoing basis, with a particular focus on responding to the unmet early learning and childcare needs of families.
The annual data captured by Pobal on behalf of my Department - through the Early Years Sector Profile Survey - is one important data source that allows us to monitor supply and demand. In addition to this survey data, the Department also relies on data from the register of services held by Tusla, data provided by services as part of their application for Core Funding and has also conducted several surveys with parents. Since 2020, five parent surveys have been undertaken by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of the Department.
Based on data captured through the Early Years Sector Profile Surveys 2020/22 (gathered in Spring 2021 with a response rate of 57%) and 2021/22 (gathered in Spring 2022 with a response rate of 82.5%) – extrapolated to take account of all services– the number of vacant places for children aged under one decreased nationally by 5%. Data collection for the Early Years Sector Profile 2022/23 has commenced and will give an updated position.
Officials in my Department are currently engaging in the Estimates process for Budget 2024, which will look to address availability and affordability of early learning and childcare provision. Currently a series of steps are being taken to address issues of undersupply.
The network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees across the country are in a position to match children and families to services operating with vacant places and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.
Under the National Action Plan for Childminding, there is a commitment to open up access to the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) to parents who use childminders following the extension of regulation to childminders.
Some €70m has been allocated to my Department through the revised National Development Plan (NDP) – with the majority of this funding earmarked for new places.
My Department, in partnership with the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government, is in the process of updating the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings. As part of this work, my Department has been included in the updated list of prescribed bodies that need to be notified on certain planning matters, including the formulation of County Development Plans and Local Area Plans.
In addition, Core Funding - introduced in September 2022 - has already proven to be effective in expanding capacity, particularly in areas of undersupply and additional funding secured in Budget 2023 for year two of Core Funding provides further opportunity to invest in 3% capacity growth.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) for assistance. Contact details for CCCs may be found on www.myccc.ie .
