388. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the mechanisms in place to ensure that early learning and childcare providers participating in the core funding scheme comply with the fee management conditions, and do not increase fees charged to parents contrary to the terms of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50364/26]

390. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of fee management reviews, investigations, audits or compliance checks undertaken in each year since the introduction of core funding; the number of breaches identified and sanctions applied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50366/26]

393. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of fee reviews initiated; the number of fee reviews initiated since the establishment of the core funding scheme resulted in a finding that parents were being overcharged by a partner service and therefore in breach of core funding rules; to confirm if payments to that service provider have been placed on hold; her plans to recoup the overcharged fees for parents, including by legal action if required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50369/26]

394. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality where a finding of overcharging/breach of core funding rules was made against a partner service, to indicate in each instance the length of time the case took from first complaint to a finding that the partner service was breaching core funding rules; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50370/26]

395. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of cases where a partner service was found to have raised fees in breach of the core funding rules, if the relevant partner service has confirmed to her Department that it has completed all remedial actions within the specified time period, including refunds of parents if required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50371/26]

396. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in situations where the partner service has confirmed that they have completed all remedial actions including refunds, to outline the way in which the evidence of remedy provided by the service provider has been verified by her Department; if parents and service users who were deemed to have been overcharged have been included in this process in order to confirm that they have in fact been appropriately refunded, if applicable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50372/26]

397. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to identify the instances where a finding has been made that a partner service has overcharged parents in breach of core funding rules; where the deadline for complying with the remedial actions including refunds has passed and her Department has been made aware (by any means) that the partner service has not in fact complied with the remedial actions required of them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50373/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 388, 390, 393, 394, 395, 396 and 397 together.

The Department is conscious of the importance of promoting affordability for parents without compromising the viability of businesses in the sector.

The Core Funding Programme, which is administered by Pobal, has a number of system validations in place as part of the application process to validate the information input by services. These system validations cross reference data on, or submitted by, services with a range of sources, including the Tusla Register of Early Years Services. This structured, system based approach has proven effective in ensuring the information provided by services is accurate and meets Core Funding requirements prior to contracting.

In July 2025, the Department and Pobal launched a pilot compliance check involving 30 services to assess adherence to the Graduate Lead Educator premium requirements under the grant scheme. The findings from these checks are informing the development of a strengthened and standardised compliance checklist for the programme.

To provide a level of accountability for exchequer funding the Fee Review process was initially piloted in 2023 with Pobal carrying out the reviews. In July 2024 the National Fee Review Team (NFRT) was established and the pilot Fee review process was moved to an interim Fee Review process. The NFRT consists of members from 2 City/County Childcare Committees and members of staff within the Department.

The Department is only made aware of a potential breach of the Fee Management contractual obligations when a Fee Review request is escalated to the NFRT. Once it is raised, a Fee Review is commenced. Since the establishment of the Fee Review process there have been 19 Fee Reviews carried out under the pilot Fee Review process, 21 under NFRT for programme year 2024/2025 and there is currently 18 Fee Reviews for programme year 2025/2026.

As of 30 June 2026, 27 services who entered the Fee Review process have been found in breach of the Core Funding Fee Management rules. Once a Fee Review has reached a final decision, if the Partner Service is found in breach of the Core Funding Fee Management rules, they must return a Declaration and complete remedial actions, one of which is to refund affected parents which have been identified by the Partner Service.

The Fee Review process has sanctions that can be deployed only where necessary. Should a Partner Service fail to engage in the process; refuse to sign a declaration, and/or fail to complete their remedial actions, their funding may be placed on hold. If the Partner Service does not engage in the process or fail to carry out the remedial actions by the end of the Core Funding programme year, the Partner Service will forfeit any funding that is on hold and will be placed on hold if they re-enter Core Funding the following programme year.

As the circumstances in each case are different and communication is across multiple stakeholders, a finite timeline for a Fee Review is not possible. The timeline for each case is dependent on the amount of information and clarification at each stage, the multiple analysis that ensures due diligence of cross checking, and the nature of communication across multiple organisations. The National Fee Review Team endeavours to complete any case within the shortest possible timeframe.

As Core Funding is a supply-side grant to early learning and childcare and school aged childcare providers, a Partner Service signs a Core Funding Partner Service Agreement, each programme year. The Agreement is between the Partner Service and the Department.

To purchase childcare, a parent enters a contract with a Partner Service, the majority of which are private businesses. This contract is between the Partner Service and the parent. The Department is not party to the contract and has no remit over this private contract and is only able to take actions within the rules of Core Funding. The Core Funding contract does not allow for recoupment for parents by the Department or through the Core Funding payments.

In the event that an individual wishes to raise a concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/city-and-county-childcare-committees/).

Further detail on this process is available in the Guidelines on Fee Management section on the Early Years Hive: Guidelines on Fee Management - Service Provider Portal (www.earlyyearshive.ncs.gov.ie/Fee-Review-Process-Guidelines-for-2026-2027-Programme-Year.pdf)