Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to say we are making good progress in preparing for the delivery of the affordable child care scheme. As the Deputy is aware, I reported on the matter to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs on 24 January 2018 and our work continues intensively.

The introduction of the affordable child care scheme is dependent on the development of a supporting information technology, IT, system. The request for tender for the IT system has been published but until such time as an IT developer is in place and agrees a delivery timeframe, it is not possible to confirm and communicate a definitive start date for the scheme. However, for the purposes of planning and procurement, the scheme's project team has produced estimated target dates, which are set out in the published request for tender.

These dates involve the system being available to accept applications from the end of May 2019, with subsidies being paid from September 2019. I am committed to updating Deputies, the public and child care providers regarding the expected timeframe as the project progresses. It is important to note in the interim that enhanced child care schemes and subsidies introduced last September will remain in place.

The Government delivered on its commitment to make child care more affordable from September 2017 by introducing these enhanced measures. Currently, over 67,000 children, that is 96% of estimated eligible children, are benefitting from these measures, which include both universal subsidies for children under three and targeted subsidies for those on lower incomes or in training. The door remains open for more families to apply. In other words, many of the immediate benefits for parents of the affordable child care scheme have been fast-tracked without compromising on the rigour and time needed to develop and launch this major new scheme.

Alongside the development of the affordable child care scheme IT system, we continue to make good progress on other elements of the affordable child care scheme. For example, the Childcare Support Bill has completed Second Stage in the Dáil.

When I reported to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs on 24 January last, I noted that the full affordable child care scheme would mark a radical redesign of the legal and technical infrastructure underpinning our support for child care in Ireland.

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