I wish to raise the case of early years providers and in particular, those services which are reliant on the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme. This vital sector has sought and requires an immediate increase in their capitation. The Taoiseach will be aware that ECCE was introduced in 2010 at €64.50 per child per week. That capitation has remained static over the past 12 years. Spiralling costs are putting the viability of ECCE-reliant services in question. We cannot really afford to lose these vital services. The request from the Federation of Early Childhood Providers is that the capitation is increased to €76 per week per child. Will the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, ensure that this will happen?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. On a more general level, budget 2023 announced a record level of investment in the early learning and childcare sector. This will exceed €1 billion next year. Core funding is distributed to services based on the number of child places offered, the hours per week, the weeks per year that the places are offered and the age group of children for whom the places are available. There is also additional investment for graduates in leadership roles.

To date, with the scheme in operation for just one month, 91% - well over 4,000 providers - have signed up for the core funding. Some providers have raised concerns about the impact of the change to the funding model on smaller services. The majority of services will see an increase in their funding. No service will see a decrease in funding on last year. We will, therefore, examine and keep it under review, considering there are those who have significant concerns. We will ensure that those services that are most vulnerable will have at least the same income as previously. Apparently, this applies to fewer than 100 of the 4,000 providers. I will follow up on that with the Minister also.