Dáil debates

Thursday, 24 March 2022

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions

Childcare Services

9:20 am

Photo of Pauline TullyPauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the Department's 12-month review of the NCS, there is a paragraph that mentions this in-depth review that nobody in the sector has seen or even knew about. Did that review find that seven of the 13 services would move into financial deficit with the introduction of the NCS? Did it find that funding from these schemes constituted a major share of the services' revenues? Will the Minister confirm if many of the parents receiving community childcare subvention programme, a very high proportion of whom are unemployed, now receive fewer hours of subsidised childcare under the NCS? Did the Department know this and still go ahead with these changes, knowing children would be adversely affected?

The Association of Childhood Professionals published a report in November 2019 indicating that 50% of school-age children on the community childcare subvention programme would be entitled to NCS and 30% of early childhood education and care children on the community childcare subvention programme would be entitled to fewer hours and funding. We recognise and welcome that in budget 2022 the Department extended the universal NCS subvention to all children up to 15 and stopped the practice, as mentioned by the Minister, of counting hours spent in school and the ELC and education scheme with respect to a family's entitlement. This does not go far enough, however, to adequately address disadvantage. Will the Minister confirm such disadvantage will be addressed in budget 2023?

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