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

With the support of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I achieved a €346 million increase in the budget for childcare. In 2023 we will spend more than €1 billion on childcare for the first time ever. That is going to deliver, on average, a 25% cut in fees for parents. Importantly for providers, this also allows us to put more money into core funding. Core funding in this academic year will grow by €52 million and in the second academic year will grow to €287 million. ECCE services are funded by core funding as well. It is important to reference that ECCE services benefit from core funding. The majority will see significant increases in income under core funding. That will allow them to better pay their staff under the employment regulation order, ERO, that has been negotiated, allowing for the expansion of services across the country and assisting them to meet their overheads as well.

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