Childcare: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (FF), Labour Panel

I move:
“That Seanad Éireann:
recognises that:
- early childhood is a time of great opportunity to shape a child’s development and build a secure foundation for their future;
- for children to achieve their full potential they need opportunities for care and education;
- the role of the early years’ educator is valuable, as they play an important part in supporting children's development, learning and care;
agrees that:
- many families across the country are paying high fees for childcare places;
- demand for childcare remains higher than available supply in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children;
- in a very competitive labour market and with low levels of unemployment, recruitment and retention is a challenge for the childcare sector;
notes that:
- Budget 2026 allocated a record of nearly €1.5 billion for early learning and childcare, a 12 per cent increase on last year and up from €260 million a decade ago;
- Core Funding for 2026/27 is a record €482 million, a €90 million increase year-on year, and an 86 per cent increase since its 2022/23 launch;
- over 93 per cent of eligible providers participated in Core Funding for the last full programme year, reflecting sustained sector-wide support;
- a key condition of receiving the significant State funding that is available through Core Funding is that a partner service adheres to the fee management system, which includes a freeze on fees at 2021 levels and fee caps;
- backed by €135 million in capital funding under the National Development Plan, the State is directly building and acquiring childcare facilities for the first time, with a number of new locations due to be confirmed this year;
- Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare 2022 – 2028 aims to support and strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for the workforce in early years and school age childcare;
- ringfenced pay increases of €90 million over two years (€45 million in 2025 and €45 million in 2026) are in place to support improved pay in the sector;
acknowledges that:
- average out of pocket costs to parents for childcare are down 36 per cent since 2022;
- already, many families pay less than the target maximum of €200 per month;
- the number of childcare services is rising, with a net increase of 255 services in 2025;
- enrolments increased by 25 per cent between 2022 and 2025, from 197,000 to 247,000 children;
- this growth occurred despite a 12 per cent decline in the under-five population over the same period;
- childcare closures have decreased by 25 per cent since 2022;
- the early years’ workforce has expanded to over 42,000 staff, a 36 per cent increase since 2020;
- the latest Employment Regulation Order (ERO) delivered an average 10 per cent pay rise to over two-thirds of the workforce;
calls for:
- affordable, accessible, and high-quality childcare to be available to all families across the country;
- the reduction of childcare fees further in order to progress towards the target maximum of €200 per month, per child within the lifetime of this Government;
- continued State investment in childcare capacity, including the building or purchasing of State-owned facilities in areas of unmet need, especially those in rural areas and those with high population density;
- the prioritisation of co-location for all new school building projects, with the primary school and childcare facility located on the one campus, in order to create a more integrated education environment, and to ease pressure on parents when it comes to multiple school drop-off points;
- the Government to continue to support recruitment and retention in the sector; and
- the implementation of the Continuous Professional Development actions in the Nurturing Skills Workforce Plan by 2028 to enhance professionalisation and attract and retain a high-quality early years and school age care workforce.”

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-23