Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 467 and 497 together.

The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is a scheme of financial support to help parents with the cost of childcare. A component of the scheme is a sponsorship referral which makes special provision for vulnerable children.

Where a child is approved for NCS sponsorship, my Department will fund their childcare place in accordance to current sponsorship rates with no charge to the parents. The rates paid to ELC and SAC providers with a child with a sponsor referral attending their service is dependent on the age and educational stage of the child. Those sponsorship rates are the equivalent of the maximum possible NCS subsidy rate relative to the child's attendance, plus an additional 15% reflecting the potential additional needs of the child.

Officials in my Department are aware of the issues that have been highlighted regarding the sponsor subsidy rates to date. These issues are currently being examined as part of an internal review of the sponsor subsidy and any changes considered as part of Budget 2024.

It is important to note that support is available to all services with financial viability concerns through a Case Management process. My Department oversees this process through which local City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs) and Pobal work together to assess early learning and childcare services experiencing difficulties and provide support as necessary. Pobal co-ordinate the overall case management process with the CCC administering on-the-ground case management assistance. This can include help with completing and interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances. There is also a Sustainability Fund in place which can be accessed through this case management process. Services can access these supports by contacting their local CCCs.

Finally, I am committed to tackling disadvantage through high quality early learning and childcare that is affordable and accessible. To this end, officials in my Department are currently developing a tailored policy response in order to progress the development of a new strand of funding - Tackling Disadvantage: The Equal Participation Model (EPM).

Through this work, services will be provided with a proportionate mix of universal and targeted supports to support children and families accessing their services who are experiencing disadvantage. Following a detailed scoping phase, consultations with a wide range of stakeholders took place from December 2022 to May 2023 to inform and shape this work.

The design phase of this model is in progress. An objective and evidence informed methodology underpinning a selection process to identify services for targeted supports is also under design as part of this work.