Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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481. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the cut in childcare fees will apply to non-national childcare scheme registered creches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48410/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Department has secured a landmark €1.025 billion in funding under Budget 2023 for early learning and childcare. This includes additional funding of €121m for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) which has been allocated to reduce average parental co-payments for early learning and childcare by 25%.

From 2 January 2023, all families accessing registered early learning and childcare will receive a minimum hourly NCS subsidy of €1.40. With the current minimum hourly NCS universal subsidy set at €0.50 per hour, this represents an additional €0.90 per hour off the cost of early learning and childcare.

As per the 2022 Programme Call, the number of early learning and childcare providers that are currently contracted and available to offer the NCS is 3,268. It must be noted that early learning and childcare providers are private businesses. As such, it is a matter for each provider to decide whether they enter into any contractual arrangement with the Department, including for the NCS. However, it is open to all registered early learning and childcare providers to opt in to contract on an annual basis to participate in this Scheme.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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482. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if a child who is in full-time childcare in receipt of the ECCE hours is eligible for further subsidies under the national childcare scheme for the other hours of childcare they receive on a daily basis; the number of children on the ECCE scheme who are in full-time care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48437/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As of 2 May, the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) no longer deducts hours spent in pre-school, or school, from NCS awards. This means that parents may use their full awarded subsidised NCS hours for pre-school, or school-aged children, regardless of the term week.

If a child is registered for 15 hours per week under ECCE, parents can claim on the NCS for the hours that a child attends outside of these 15 hours. This is because the NCS subsidy cannot be claimed for the hours that a child is attending ECCE, or school.

For example, the NCS subsidy may be used for:

- childcare used before preschool or school starts in the morning (e.g. breakfast club)

- after-school childcare

- childcare used outside of preschool or school term weeks

The removal of wraparound is a substantive change that allows families whose parents are not in work or study to avail of more childcare hours for their children outside of pre-school/school hours. ‎

Lastly, full-time care is identified as having combined ECCE and NCS weekly claimed hours that are greater than 25 total hours.

In the week beginning 12 September 2022, there was a total of 101,387 children registered for ECCE. As defined above, 17,618 were also registered for NCS and are considered to be in full-time care.