Additional €4.8 million approved for National Child Development Centre in Kildare

The announcement was welcomed by children’s charity Sensational Kids

By Ciarán Mather Published 16th Jun 2026, 15:30 BST Additional €4.8 million approved for National Child Development Centre in Kildare Town | FILE PHOTOGRAPH / PIXABAY The announcement was welcomed by children’s charity Sensational Kids Sign up to our Kildare Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Kildare Live within your account.

An extra €4.8 million has been approved for the National Child Development Centre in Kildare Town.

The funding, which has been approved by the Department of Justice under the Immigrant Investor Programme, represents the balance of the original €9.6 million investment and will allow for construction to recommence on Phase One of the project.

The news has also been welcomed by children’s charity Sensational Kids, which is spearheading the project.

Sensational Kids also said that the centre is expected to begin seeing children for therapy by the end of 2027.

Following a review during the construction pause, Sensational Kids said that it has adopted a phased approach in order to ‘ensure a completed and operational therapy centre can open as quickly as possible’.

According to Sensational Kids, Phase One will deliver an 8,700-square-foot facility and will include therapy rooms, sensory motor gym, training spaces for educators and parent support workshops, a space for a range of holistic therapies and activities for children, and administrative facilities.

Furthermore, Sensational Kids has claimed that there plans in place to launch a national fundraising campaign in order to ‘realise the full vision’ of the centre via the Phase Two expansion.

An estimated additional €5 million will be required to complete the remaining portion of the original design.

However, the organisation stressed that Phase One is ‘fully deliverable’ independently of the future fundraising campaign, and is not contingent on securing additional funds for Phase Two.

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The announcement of the extra funding has also been welcomed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD (Fine Gael).

Minister Heydon said: “This is a very important investment in services for children and families, not just in Kildare, but across the country.

“Sensational Kids has demonstrated remarkable commitment in progressing this project, and I am pleased to see this funding now enabling construction to move forward again.

He added: “The National Child Development Centre will play a vital role in improving access to timely intervention and therapeutic supports for so many children who need them.”

Another politician who welcomed the announcement was Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD (Fianna Fáil), who called the development ‘a very positive step’ for families.

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Deputy Ó Fearghaíl elaborated: “Sensational Kids is already making a meaningful difference through its therapy services in Kildare, and this development represents an important expansion of that work.

“Today’s progress gives great confidence that even more children and families will benefit from enhanced supports in the near future.”

Moreover, the CEO and founder of Sensational Kids, Karen Leigh, said: “Our focus has always been on timely, accessible intervention, and this allows us to move forward with certainty and begin welcoming families by the end of next year.

“It’s about impact; expanding access to vital therapies that support children’s confidence, communication and independence, and helping every child reach their full potential,” she added.

Anyone seeking further information about Sensational Kids and the work that the organisation does can visit sensationalkids.ie .

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Related topics: Kildare Charity Department of Justice Martin Heydon Kildare Politics Politics Sign up to our Kildare Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Kildare Live within your account.