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

I thank the Deputy. It is great to be back and working with her also. I welcome also the children in the Public Gallery.

My Department is working hard to develop the new national affordable childcare scheme and I am pleased to say we are making good progress. The scheme will establish and provide financial support for parents and will also provide a sustainable platform for investment in the childcare sector for generations to come. Deputies will be aware that legislation establishing the new affordable childcare scheme, the Childcare Support Act 2018, was enacted before the summer recess. This will be underpinned by detailed secondary legislation and formal policy guidelines, both of which are currently in development, along with the regulations to provide for the registration of school-age childcare services by Tusla. These regulations will he introduced in advance of the affordable childcare scheme to allow school-age childcare services to register and thereby participate in the scheme from the outset.

Following a full open tender public procurement process, the contract for the development of the scheme’s ICT system has been awarded. Now that a contractor is in place, my officials are finalising a detailed project plan and I will shortly confirm and communicate our plans for the launch of the affordable childcare scheme to Government, and more widely. Work is also progressing on several other fronts, including the preparation of timely and user-friendly information, resources and supports for parents, providers and other stakeholders. Alongside this, I am committed to ongoing consultation and engagement with all stakeholders in the run up to the introduction of the scheme.

Finally, the interim measures which I introduced last September to fast-track some of the benefits of the affordable childcare scheme have already supported more than 84,000 children and will remain in place until the new scheme goes live.

We are turning Ireland’s childcare system from one of the most expensive in the world into one of the best. This is a massive challenge and I am delighted that we are well on the way to delivering the childcare supports that Irish families need and deserve.

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