Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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1332. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide free access to childcare to families in receipt of a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56653/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help parents to meet the cost of childcare and allow children to access Early Learning and School Age Childcare.

The medical card operates on a means assessed basis. The NCS operates on a universal basis with enhanced provision for those lower incomes through an income assessment. As both operate on a needs basis, it is not clear how introducing the medical card would enhance provision

The NCS is designed to be highly inclusive and to meet the needs of those families who need it the most.

The subsidies on older schemes such as CCSP did not have any inform of direct income assessment but were grounded instead in medical card and social protection entitlements. The NCS replaced these schemes with a single coherent and integrated scheme with its own application and income assessment. It is a central policy component of the NCS to poverty proof and assist people in exiting the poverty traps, some of which were associated with older early learning and childcare schemes being tied to other entitlements.

By making this fundamental shift away from the legacy schemes s, and by tangibly reducing the cost of quality childcare for thousands of families, the NCS aims to improve children’s outcomes, improve labour market participation and reduce child poverty.

I would also note that the NCS has a mechanism in place to provide free childcare to families who need it most. The NCS sponsorship arrangement allows designated sponsor bodies to refer children to the Scheme on child welfare, protection, family support or other specified grounds. Where a child is referred to the Scheme, the full cost of the childcare place is paid without cost to the family.

Early this year, my Department will begin the process of reviewing the NCS which has been in place since 2019. This review will examine whether the NCS is meeting its objective of reducing the cost of childcare for those who need it most, it will also examine any possible enhancements that could be made to the Scheme.