2798. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childcare providers in County Wicklow that have pulled out of the core funding scheme since 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55856/26]

Core Funding commenced September 2022 and as of 3 November 2025, 15 services based in Wicklow had left Core Funding at one point over the lifetime of the scheme to this date but later rejoined. A further 2 services had left and continued to operate outside of the scheme. Information provided by Pobal, the scheme administrator, indicates that 1 additional service has formally withdrawn from the scheme to date.

While the Department cannot mandate providers to participate in the Scheme, every effort has been made to carefully design Core Funding to meet the policy objectives including to achieve high levels of participation by providers.

Under the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement, Partner Services must comply with the rules of the Core Funding scheme, such as the associated fee management measures and minimum notice periods. In line with the Core Funding Partner Service Agreement, services considering withdrawing from the scheme during a programme year must give 3 months’ notice of their intention to withdraw to the scheme administrator, and 3 months’ written notice to parents/guardians.

However, if an existing Partner Service decides not to enter a contract for the new programme year starting on 1 September, they, as private businesses, would no longer be subject to the provisions of the Core Funding Agreement and, by extension, the required minimum notice period to the scheme administrator and parents/guardians. They are also not required to provide a reason for choosing not to reapply for Core Funding to the scheme administrator.

As of July 2026, we are seeing the highest numbers of services participating in the Core Funding scheme since the scheme was launched, with 93% of all eligible providers signed up to the fourth year of Core Funding which equates to over 4,600 services.

The Department continues to support the ongoing development and resourcing of Core Funding which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced.

When first introduced in 2022, Core Funding brought a significant increase in investment for the sector with an annual allocation of €259 million. That annual allocation has increased each year since and will exceed €390 million for year 4 of the Scheme, starting from September. This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years.

I was delighted to announce further investment in Core Funding in Budget 2026. The additional funding being made available will see the allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year from September 2026 increase to over €480 million. That is an additional €89.3 million on the current full year allocation, or a 23% increase.