Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent)
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407. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if discussions are expected to provide additional funding for crèches to enable them to reduce the cost per child, given that parents are struggling with the cost of childcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31395/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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First 5 sets out a commitment to increase State spending on Early Learning and Childcare to at least €1bn by 2028.

Already, more than 100,000 children avail of the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) programme, a universal two-year pre-school programme available free to all children within the eligible age range. In addition, the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to thousands of families to help with the cost of early learning and childcare. There are two types of subsidies available under the NCS:

- Universal subsidies are available to all families with children under 3 years old. They are also available to families with children over 3 years who have not yet qualified for ECCE. This subsidy is not means tested and provides 50c per hour towards the cost of a registered place for a maximum of 45 hours per week.

- Income Assessed Subsidies are available to families with children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years. This subsidy is means tested. The subsidy varies depending on family income, child(ren’s) age and educational stage, and the number of children in the family. The maximum available income assessed subsidy, dependent on the aforementioned conditions, is €5.10 per hour or a maximum weekly subsidy of €229.50.

A recent review of the NCS revealed that, as a proportion of total family early learning and childcare costs, 6% of families receiving NCS support reported that all early learning and childcare costs were covered by the NCS, while 38% reported that half or more of their costs were covered by the NCS.

Since the review took place, I announced a further package of measures to directly address the costs of early learning and childcare in Budget 2022, including:

- an extension of the NCS universal subsidy to all children under 15, benefitting up to 40,000 children from September this year.

- an end to the practice of deducting hours spent in pre-school or school from the entitlement to NCS subsidised hours from spring 2022, benefitting an estimated 5,000 children from low income families since 2 May.

- a new core funding scheme – worth €221m in a full year – to support:

- improved quality through better pay and conditions for the workforce by supporting agreement on an ERO through the JLC;

- the employment of graduate staff; and

- improved sustainability and stability for services.

The new funding model being implemented aims to transform the sector to one that is increasingly publicly funded and publicly managed, delivering a service for the public good, through a partnership between the State and providers, to the benefit of children, parents, educators and practitioners, and society overall.

A new fee management system, attached to core funding, will mean no increase in fees from pre-pandemic levels for the September 2022 to August 2023 programme year, which, in tandem with developments to the NCS will together deliver significantly improved affordability for parents.

We will continue to build on this in Budget 2023 and into the future and as I have indicated before, in this year's budget my focus is on reducing the cost for parents by increased investment in the NCS.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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408. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the process by which a childcare provider can extend their opening hours in order to provide additional services (details supplied). [31397/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department funds Tusla registered early learning and childcare services to provide a number of Early Learning and Care schemes to eligible children.

The level of care that early learning and childcare services provide must be in accordance with their registration with Tusla and in line with planning conditions set out by the Local Authority.

While the level of care is determined by their registration with Tusla planning conditions, early learning and childcare services are free to set their own opening hours to provide this service.

My Department funds City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs) who offer a wide variety of services locally including, advice and support on applying for the various funding schemes administered by the Department. Contact details for all of the CCCs are available at myccc.ie

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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409. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which it may be possible to provide sufficient childcare places at an affordable rate to ensure that parents may plan for the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31481/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ensuring the availability of high-quality early learning and childcare that is affordable and accessible is a key priority for me.

Since 2015, significant increases in State investment in early learning and childcare has given rise to a substantial growth in the numbers of children participating in these services. Every year, more than 100,000 children participate on the universal pre-school programme (ECCE) and the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) subsidises up to 80,000 children.

My Department’s Transition Fund operating from May-August this year and the new Core Funding Scheme to roll out from September include a fee freeze condition, which will ensure that parents feel the full affordability benefits of the ECCE programme and the NCS, including the enhancements to the NCS, which I announced as part of Budget 2022.

The reforms I am implementing will for the first time provide Government with the means to meaningfully reduce the cost of early learning and childcare for parents. With these reforms in place, preparations are now underway in my Department to seek significant investment into the National Childcare Scheme in the context of the forthcoming budget that will lead to a substantial reduction in fees for parents without adversely affecting the sustainability and availability of services.

I am also taking a range of steps to address issues of under supply. Some €70m has been allocated to my Department through the revised National Development Plan (NDP) – with the majority of this funding earmarked for new places. Under the National Action Plan for Childminding, I have committed to opening up access to the NCS to parents who use childminders following the extension of regulation to childminders, which is expected to happen within the first 2-3 years of the Plan.

My Department, in partnership with the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government, is in the process of updating the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings. In addition, City/County Childcare Committees have been mobilised to engage proactively with services to identify vacant places and to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.