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07 Sept 2025
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07 Sept 2025
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Grants of up to €1000 are now available for childminders providing a childminding service in their own homes.
The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, today (May 16) announced the opening of the 2024 Childminding Development Grant.
The €500,000 budget is double what was announced in 2023, reflecting the high demand for the grant last year.
It 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 and STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths), as well as IT equipment to assist childminders to engage with training and registration processes later in the year.
Eligible equipment includes safety items such as fire blankets and cupboard locks, early learning equipment like changing tables and booster seats, indoor/outdoor play equipment such as swings and climbing frames, minor adaptations including fencing, and IT equipment such as laptops of tablets.
Ineligible equipment includes trampolines, subscriptions, consumables, walkers, travel cots, and electronic equipment including games/consoles and batteries.
The grants are open to all childminders who provide childminding services in their homes, including those who are planning to open a childminding business in 2024.
Seventy five percent of the grant is paid in advance to help childminders with the upfront costs of purchasing equipment.
Commenting on the news, Minister O'Gorman said, "I am delighted to announce the launch of the 2024 Childminding Development Grant. I am committed to putting positive supports in place to help childminders, and the doubling of the budget for the grant this year reflects this.
"In addition to quality and safety measures, this year childminders can apply for an IT grant, in advance of registration which will be opening to childminders later this year. Registration of childminders is a key component of the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028."
Applications for the Childminding Development Grant opened today (May 16) and will close on June 7 2024.
To find out more about the childminding development grant and the learner fund bursary annual grants, please find contact details for your local CCC at myCCC.ie
For further information about the Childminder Development Grant or the National Action Plan for Childminding, visit www.gov.ie/childminding.
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