Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Ensuring the availability and affordability of early learning and childcare provision for parents is a key priority of the Government.

The transition fund referred to in the question is a temporary, once-off scheme to support providers between the end of the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, in April and the introduction of a new core funding scheme in September. The primary objective of the transition fund is to ensure that the fees charged to parents do not increase. Participation in the transition fund is optional, but I am glad to see that 96% of providers have signed up to it. In Dublin, 991 providers are now participating and providing 43,541 places for children. The transition fund remains open for new entrants to sign up to for the remaining months of its operation. City and county childcare committees are available to support providers who have not yet signed up.

The transition fund requirements that fees remain at or below September 2021 levels continues in September under the new core funding scheme. Under this core funding scheme, partner services will also be required to offer the NCS and-or the ECCE programme to parents. Taken together, these options will benefit parents by ensuring that the full affordability effects of the NCS are felt. This will give parents greater certainty about what they will be charged and prevent increases in NCS subsidies from being absorbed by fee increases. The NCS is supporting thousands of families to offset the childcare costs. Budget 2022 has expanded access to the NCS and ended the practice of deducting time in preschool and school from the NCS subsidised hours. It has also extended universal subsidies for children up to the age of 15.

I recognise that the burden of childcare fees for many families remains too high and that more needs to be done to ensure affordability. The introduction of core funding from this September, combined with developments in the NCS, will improve affordability. I have also made it very clear that in this year’s budget I will look to do more in respect of investment in the NCS.

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