Childcare Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-19
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Norma Foley (FF), Kerry

I thank the Deputy. As for how we are progressing, the first port of call is the local childcare committee, and we ask people to engage there. It can then engage further with the Department. I do not at all take away from the case the Deputy is making.
We are very conscious of the costs of childcare. The premise of core funding is where fees were frozen. In return for that, operators were given core funding. The national childcare scheme is supporting parents by providing reduced costs but, again, more work needs to be done. The Deputy knows we have a target of €250 per week to be achieved by the end of this Government term. We are working on that. We have increased core funding year on year. The national childcare scheme is available to parents. We also introduced fee caps last year and we will be doing likewise this year. We are working towards the €250 per week.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:40+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-19