Childcare Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Norma Foley (FF), Kerry

As I said earlier, I am pleased to have announced on Tuesday that next phase of the building scheme. It is a €10 million capital funding scheme to deliver a significant number of additional early learning and childcare places. The scheme is being funded under the updated national development plan. The purpose of the building blocks scheme is to deliver additional capacity in the sector by supporting existing early learning and childcare services to undertake physical extensions to existing premises. The scheme will be open to community and private services that are signed up to the core funding scheme and commit to continuing in the scheme and adhering to its conditions, particularly in respect of the fee management rules.
The aim of the scheme is to tackle undersupply of full-time places, particularly for children aged from one to three years of age. Places for children in other age brackets will also be eligible for funding, once services create at least the minimum number of places in the priority age cohort. The scheme will have two strands, one for extensions to existing premises for community services and another for extensions to existing premises for private services. Community services can avail of investment of up to €530,000 for projects up to a total value of €650,000. Private services can avail of investment of up to €265,000 for projects up to a total value of €650,000, with a minimum of 50% funding to come from the operator. Thresholds from the scheme have been updated since the previous scheme to reflect construction price inflation.
All projects will be required to accept a charge on the premises to protect the State's interest in the property and ensure that the capital investment continues to be used for its intended purpose over a long period of time. That is important. The State needs to protect the investment. It is important that if funding is being given to provide additional places, it will be used in the long term for the provision of the additional places, as set out in the building blocks extension scheme phase 2.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23