2026 can’t just be a year of consultations and reviews

2025 was a year that started with big hopes for the Early Years and School Age Care system, but it fizzled out, with little meaningful progress, despite promises made during the late 2024 general election campaign.

Progress towards meeting the commitments in the Programme for Government has been glacial at best. Following an underwhelming Budget 2026, the year ended with the government announcing its much-anticipated Shaping the Future: Early Years Action Plan. Early Childhood Ireland had expected to see meaningful progress and clear timelines, but the plan largely reiterates previous proposals, including a consultation that had been promised for 2025. We really hope that there will be concrete actions in place by the end of 2026.

Developments last year

The TALIS Starting Strong findings were released in November 2025, and marked the first time Ireland participated in this major OECD survey. The findings point to a deeply committed, child-centred workforce, but also expose persistent structural challenges in pay, workload, and retention that require urgent policy attention. It is so helpful to have this comprehensive data, which we are presenting in a series of Policy in Focus articles, but it also merely confirms the daily reality for providers, staff and parents.

Waiting lists for crèche places peaked at 40,000 children aged under three last year. National average staff turnover in settings stood at 25%, rising to more than 50% in some areas.

Despite some substantial progress through an Employment Regulation Order, minimum hourly pay for educators and practitioners is now €15.00/hour, which is just 85 cents over the new National Minimum Wage rate that came into effect on 1 January 2026.

Budget 2026 was a major disappointment, offering just €125 million of increased spending for Early Years and School Age Care, which included funding for 2,300 new places in settings, but no plan for staffing these.

Plans for 2026

In December 2025, Minister for Children, Equality and Disability Norma Foley TD launched the Shaping the Future: Early Years Action Plan. As well as some proposals to address affordability, during Phase 1, the Department also intends to hold a public consultation to inform actions for Phase 2, which will be implemented from 2027-2029. The Minister also launched Simplify to Support: Action Plan for Simplification which lists commitments for implementation in 2026.

The Department of Children, Equality and Disability has other plans for this year, including:

• Nurturing Skills, the workforce development plan, will have the mid-point review of its actions and an examination of priorities to 2028.
• The development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Equal Start is underway, with the report due to be published between April and June.
• A review of the initial implementation of the Childminding-specific Regulations during the transition period, which will include consultation with childminders and other stakeholders.

Separately, the Minister for Children, Equality and Disability has confirmed that the Department hopes to extend an Employee Assistance Programme nationwide in 2026.

Finally, an evaluation of the first year of Core Funding and findings from the project were expected in late 2025. Hopefully this will also be published in early 2026.

Early Childhood Ireland’s proposals

The Department of Children, Equality and Disability has already developed a series of policy proposals for the Early Years and School Age Care system, and it also has access to more data about children, staff and settings than ever before. What is missing is a national vision for the system and political leadership on how to get there. The government might argue that its forthcoming consultation is the opportunity to build this vision, but it could instead keep its promises to children without any delay.

While Early Childhood Ireland will engage constructively in the process, the truth is that we will not be saying anything new or revolutionary. Policy makers already have the evidence and the proposals to deliver what is needed for children:

• Agree on a new investment target for Early Years and School Age Care, aligned with OECD recommendations.
• Outline a vision for the future – will Ireland adopt a public model? If so, by when? What will it look like – a national school model, Public-Private Partnerships, Social Enterprise models, or full state ownership? If not a public model, what will governance look like?
• Name a date to introduce pay parity between Early Years graduates and their primary-school counterparts.
• Align funding programmes and attendance rules to make them child-centred, easier to administer and more transparent to families.
• Plan future provision for places based on local needs, underpinned by Universal Design guidelines and every child’s right to a place in a centre or a childminder’s home, in their own community.

A vision for children

Available research consistently demonstrates that high-quality Early Years provision reduces developmental inequalities, improves school readiness and generates long-term social and economic benefits. In Ireland, child poverty and deprivation data show that children aged from birth to six years old continue to experience disproportionate levels of hardship. These inequalities take root precisely at the developmental stage when intervention is most effective.

The time for reviews and restating old commitments has passed. We cannot afford to wait another year for decisive action, clear timelines, and a genuine commitment from the government to ensure there is a system that works for children and the adults who care for them. What is needed is clarity on investment, a vision for a future model, and a firm date for pay parity. These are not radical demands. They are essential steps toward an equitable, sustainable, and high-quality Early Years and School Age Care system that centres around the child.

If you have any questions about our work, please contact us at policy@earlychildhoodireland.ie.