Minister Foley publishes 2024 progress report for First 5, the whole of government strategy for babies, young children and their families
- €1.3 billion investment in early learning and childcare this year, which builds on
the €1 billion investment target that was met in 2023, five years earlier than
anticipated - 95% of 2024 commitments expected to be delivered by year end
- Further milestones include extra two weeks of paid Parent’s Leave and an
additional payment of €280 for a new baby among others
The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley, has today published the First 5 Annual
Implementation Report 2024.
First 5, the ten-year Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families was
published in November 2018. The strategy includes 125 actions to improve the lives of babies, young
children and their families in their “First 5” years of life. The strategy is delivered by a wide variety of
stakeholders whose contributions are vital to its success including ten Government Departments, the
HSE, Tusla, as well as 31 delivery partners.
The report published today summarises recent progress in implementing the strategy, with 56% of all
2024 commitments met at this point and 95% expected to be met by year end. In particular, the
report details €1.3 billion of investment for early learning and childcare, which builds on the €1
billion investment target that was met in 2023, five years earlier than anticipated
The report contains details on all the milestones reached so far, as all Departments, Agencies,
Partners, and stakeholders work together to implement the First 5 Big Steps. Some of the key
achievements from 2024 that have already been achieved include:
▪ Parents with a child under two years of age are each entitled to an extra two weeks of paid
Parent’s Leave and Benefit.
▪ A 24% increase for early learning and childcare in Budget 2025, bringing funding up by €266
million to over €1.3 billion.
▪ Launch of the Parent Peer Support Fund to help organisations promote the sharing of
information and improve parental wellbeing with €100,000 of available funding.
▪ The ‘New Baby Grant’, which is an additional payment of €280 for a newborn or adopted
child, was announced as part of Budget 2025.
▪ The progression of several measures and supports encouraging optimal health behaviours
such as breast feeding, healthy eating, physical activity, and child safety.
▪ The extension of the Access and Inclusion Model to children in the universal two-year pre-school Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) programme. This involves
providing targeted supports to children with disabilities outside of time spent in the ECCE
programme, throughout the year.
▪ The Building Blocks Expansion Scheme allocated €1.3m to services to undertake renovations
or to upgrade existing space to cater for more children. It is expected to deliver up to 300
new places for one to three-year-olds.
▪ Childminder-specific regulations were introduced to allow registered childminders to be
covered by the National Childcare Scheme.
▪ Equal Start, a new model of state supports, was launched to ensure children experiencing
disadvantage can access and meaningfully participate in early learning and childcare.
Speaking about today’s publication, Minister Foley said she was pleased with the: “considerable
progress that has been made to deliver on the commitments in the First 5 Strategy by Government
departments, state agencies and the community and voluntary sector.”
“I believe a lot can be accomplished in this term of Government to improve services and supports to
young children in their “First 5” years of life. Our new Programme for Government includes important
steps to improve accessibility and affordability of early learning and childcare, to professionalise its
workforce, improve quality and to alleviate childhood poverty.”
“As we move towards the final phase of implementation of the First 5 Strategy, I strongly believe that
we can create positive change to ensure all children can get the best start in life and reach their full
potential. I look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to bring us closer to this reality.”
Notes:
The First 5 Implementation Plan 2023-2025 was launched in November 2023. It includes 125 actions
to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families. Some key achievements for 2024
include:
A broader range of options for parents to balance working and caring
▪ From August 2024, parents with a child under two years of age or who have adopted a
child within the last two years will each be entitled to an extra two weeks of paid
Parent’s Leave and Benefit.
▪ The right to request flexible working for parents and carers, which was introduced
through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, was commenced
on 6 March 2024.
A new model of parenting support
▪ A total of €75,000 was distributed among 37 organisations under the 2023/24 Parent Peer
Support Fund. This funding facilitated delivery of parent peer support projects by
organisations who provide a diverse range of services such as domestic violence, kinship
care, breastfeeding, disability, and migrant supports. In 2024/25, the total funding available
has increased to €100,000.
▪ Ten Children and Young People’s Services Committees (CYPSCs) participated in a pilot of a
Parenting Support Awareness Fund, funding CYPSC to promote existing parenting support
services in their local areas. The learnings from the pilot were incorporated into the fund in
2024 which was then rolled out to all 27 CYPSCs.
New developments in child health
▪ The HSE launched the updated National Infant Feeding Education Programme for healthcare
providers, with a focus on standardising the delivery of breastfeeding education and skills
training, maximising blended learning, and ensuring health care staff are up to date with
emerging evidence. To date five thousand staff have enrolled and over 70 staff have been
trained to deliver breastfeeding skills training sessions within maternity and public health
nursing services.
▪ During 2024, 11 additional Home Visiting Programmes were approved through the Children’s
Fund in partnership with Tusla.
▪ A Project Officer was appointed to spearhead work on a dedicated child health workforce.
Reform of the Early Learning and Care system
▪ Budget 2025 allocated an additional €266 million for early learning and childcare,
representing an increase of 24% from 2024.
▪ The Building Blocks Expansion Scheme allocated €1.3m to services to undertake renovations
or to upgrade existing space to cater for more children. It is expected to deliver up to 300
new places for one to three-year-olds. The €25 million Building Blocks Extension scheme was
opened for applications in November 2024.
▪ Childminder related exemptions were removed from primary legislation and childminderspecific regulations were introduced in September.
▪ Under Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age
Childcare (2022-2028), 47 of 57 actions for 2024 were either completed or in progress.
A package of measures to tackle early childhood poverty and disadvantage
▪ Equal Start was launched; a major new model of government-funded supports to ensure
children experiencing disadvantage can access and meaningfully participate in early learning
and childcare. Settings benefitting from setting-targeted supports – approximately 800 in the
initial implementation phase – have been objectively identified as operating in the context of
the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage.
▪ An additional payment of €280 for a newborn or adopted child (the ‘New Baby Grant’) was
announced as part of Budget 2025. It is estimated that in 2025, the grant will be paid in
respect of some 54,000 children.
