Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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618. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has any concerns that the current design of the National Childcare Strategy does not facilitate part-time childcare hours as providers are only paid for the hours used, and are therefore out of pocket if the child attends less than a full-time service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26172/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is designed to substantially reduce costs to families using eligible early learning and childcare. It is designed to be flexible, recognising that early learning and childcare needs are different for each family. NCS subsidies are awarded as an hourly rate, along with a maximum number of weekly hours that the subsidy will be paid for. The particular arrangements are a matter between the service provider and family depending on their service offer.

Early learning and care (ELC) and school aged childcare (SAC) services are provided by private enterprises, either privately owned or operated by community organisations. While service providers are contracted by my Department to provide services at a subsidised rate to parents, and those providers must pass on the NCS subsidy in full and cannot increase fees, they are however free to set their own policies regarding levels of early learning and care offered, including whether or not they offer part-time places.

The NCS is designed so that families receive an allocation of hours which can be used at any time during a week. For example a family who want to use 30 hours of early learning and childcare per week can apply their subsidy to 6 hours per day, 5 days per week; or apply the subsidy 10 hours per day, 3 days per week. The level of funding starts at €1.40 per hour and rises to €5.10 per hour depending on age of the child and the family's household income. An allocation of up to 45 hours per week is available depending on whether all parents are in work or study.

Given the large amount of public money that is invested by the Exchequer in funding the Scheme, there must be an appropriate level of oversight and accountability. As such, it would not be appropriate to use exchequer funding to provide NCS subsidies as a full day allocation when a child only attends a service part time.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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619. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason ECCE providers are paid according to daily attendance, in contrast to the Department of Education system where primary and secondary schools are subvented and teachers paid irrespective of classroom attendance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26173/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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All children meeting the minimum age requirement of 2 years and 8 months are eligible for two full programme years on the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. The ECCE programme is offered for 3 hours per day, up to 5 days per week.

ECCE is not a mandatory programme and it is parental choice whether a child attends full time, part time or not at all. A parent/guardian may choose to avail of, for example, only 4 days of ECCE per week. This would mean that their child attends for 12 hours of free early learning and care under the ECCE programme. It would be an inappropriate use of public funds to pay a subvention of the full amount of 15 hours a week to a provider only providing a service of 12 hours a week in this scenario.

Service Providers must keep daily attendance records for each child attending and records must include the child’s full name, date of attendance, time of child’s arrival and time of child’s departure. Where attendance differs from registration in a consistent pattern over a four week period, registrations must be updated to reflect the actual pattern of attendance. An update on the Early Years Hive (the online registration system) must occur immediately after the four weeks of the reduced attendance pattern commencing.

In exceptional circumstances, for example, serious illness, the service provider may apply to retain a child's registration beyond four weeks up to a maximum of twelve weeks.