Nearly €20,000 awarded to Clare childminders as part of development grant

The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley TD, has announced the 2025 Childminding Development Grant awards, which will see 413 childminders across the country receive €411,338 in combined funding – the highest number of recipients and highest amount of funding ever awarded under the annual grant scheme.

The Minister’s support for the grant reflects her ongoing commitment to the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, with 19 Clare childminders successfully securing funding.

Minister Foley said, “Childminders are an essential part of our early learning and care and school-age childcare sector and of our local communities. I am delighted to be able to support an increase in the number of childminders benefiting from the Childminding Development Grant – and to support childminders to enhance quality and safety in their service.

“The Childminding Development Grant is one of a range of supports provided to childminders through the National Action Plan for Childminding, which remains a priority for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. As a result of the new regulations introduced in 2024, childminders can now register with Tusla and parents who use childminders can now benefit from the National Childcare Scheme," she concluded. 

The Childminding Development Grant aims to support childminders to enhance quality and safety in their service through the purchase of toys, childcare equipment, safety equipment, equipment to support inclusion, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) and the Arts, as well as IT equipment to assist childminders to engage with training and registration processes.

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The 19 Clare childminders were awarded €19,000 and the successful applicants will receive information about their grant awards over the coming days.

The grants were open to all childminders, including those planning to open a childminding business in 2025. 75% of the grant is paid in advance to help childminders with the upfront costs of purchasing equipment.

The increase in the number of awards reflects the rising demand for the grant among childminders. It also reflects the Government’s commitment to support childminders to prepare for registration with Tusla. In line with the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, regulations written specifically for childminders came into effect for the first time in September 2024, making it possible for all childminders to register with Tusla and take part in the National Childcare Scheme.

Those childminders who were previously exempt from regulation have a three-year transition period until 2027 during which they are now able to register with Tusla but are not yet required to do so.

For further information about the National Action Plan for Childminding, see www.gov.ie/childminding