Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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175. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the once-off measure costing €37 million will operate or be spent exclusively in 2022; if not, if it will roll over into 2023; and if so, the cost of the measure in 2023. [51396/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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In Budget 2022 I have secured an additional €78m in early learning and care and school age childcare funding, bringing the total investment in the sector to €716m next year.

Some €37m has been made available for Transition Fund for providers in the sector between the end of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme and the introduction of the new Core Funding stream, May to August 2022.  The Transition Fund will provide the necessary resources to support ELC and SAC services to ensure there continues to be no increases in parent’s fees for ELC and SAC in the period leading up to the introduction of the new funding stream.

It is my intention that this once-off measure  will operate in 2022 to provide funding to support early learning and childcare services in the transitional phase to the introduction of the new funding stream in September 2022.