Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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26. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the average childcare costs in 2022 or the latest such available data by county; his plans to tackle the costs for parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28403/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Earlier this month I published the Annual Early Years Sector Profile Report 2020/21. The report, based on a survey undertaken in June 2021, provided data on fees charged for early learning and childcare. This Report revealed that the average fee for a full time place was €186.84 while the average fee for a part time place and sessional place was €110.92 and €74.20 respectively.

As demonstrated in the table provided, fees charged to families vary considerably by county, with the highest fees reported all of types provision in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

A range of supports have been put in place by my Department to support families to offset these fees charged, including the ECCE Programme and the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).  A recent review of the NCS showed that:

38% families had more than half of their early learning and childcare costs were covered by the NCS;

56% families had more money to spend due to the scheme; and

28% families were working more because of NCS, with 8% reporting that they would not be in work without it.

I recognise however that the fee burden on some families remains high and we need to do more to ensure affordability.

The package of measures I announced in Budget 2022 will allow further progress to be made.

Since August 2020, early learning and childcare services had been able to access the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) without having to demonstrate a reduction in turnover. This continued to be available until the end of April. This significant level of funding to the sector has ensured that fees have remained largely static for the last two years, as demonstrated in the Annual Early Years Sector Profile Report 2020/21.

Following the tapering of EWSS and prior to the introduction of a new Core Funding Scheme, I put in place a Transition Fund. The primary conditionality of the Transition Fund is an agreement not to increase fees from September 2021 levels. I am delighted to report that so far 93% of services have agreed to operate a freeze on parental fees by coming into contract for the Transition Fund.

A central condition of the Core Funding Scheme, which will commence in September, will be that providers agree not to increase fees above those which were charged last year. This will give parents greater certainty about what they will be charged and ensure that increases to NCS subsidies are not absorbed by fee increases. The approach to fee management will be developed further over time.

Budget 2022 also extended universal NCS subsidies for children of all ages up to 15, and changed how ‘wraparound hours’ for NCS subsidies are determined.

Ensuring no fee increase, in tandem with developments to the NCS will together deliver improved affordability for parents.