Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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57. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the measures she is taking to ensure that the newly announced single affordable child care scheme will not impact negatively in any way on lone parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33330/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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From September 2017 a new Affordable Childcare scheme will be introduced which will provide financial support for parents towards the cost of childcare. The new scheme will provide a system from which both universal and targeted subsidies can be provided towards the cost of childcare. This new scheme will replace the existing targeted childcare programmes with a single, streamlined and more user-friendly scheme and is intended to provide “wraparound‟ care for pre-school and school-age children.

The universal element of the scheme will be available to all families with children between the age of 6 months and 36 months (or until the child qualifies for the free pre-school programme if later than 36 months), who are attending a registered childcare provider.

The targeted element of the scheme will be available to families with children aged between 6 months and 15 years, with eligibility for subsidies based on net parental income. For parents with net incomes up to €22,700 per annum, the maximum rate of childcare subsidy will be payable.

The rate of subsidy will taper downwards as net income rises, with no means-tested / income related subsidy payable when netincome reaches €47,500. The income thresholds increase where there is more than one child in a family, so a family with two children under 15 years of age would have a maximum net income threshold of €51,300 and a family with three children under 15 years would have a maximum netincome threshold of €55,100.

Under the current programmes there are many families with low income-levels, including lone parents, who are not currently able to access subsidised childcare because of the requirement to be in receipt of certain state benefits or in attendance at certain training programmes.

It is envisaged that the introduction of the new single affordable childcare scheme will increase the accessibility and affordability of childcare for families, including lone parent families.