Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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475. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will outline the funding for the national childcare scheme in each county; the number of providers participating in this scheme, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3898/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help parents meet the cost of childcare. It is available to families with children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years who are attending any participating Tusla registered childcare service, including any Tusla registered childminder.

Currently, there are a total of 3,695 early learning and childcare providers participating in the NCS - an increase of approx. 8% from the previous year.

The National Childcare Scheme is a national scheme, and the funding follows the child. Families who apply for the NCS in respect of their children will receive a CHICK code in relation to their child which they can then bring to the provider of their choice. Once the provider registers the CHICK and the parent confirms the details, the funding will go directly to the provider. Therefore there is no pre-determined funding allocation for each county.

However, for illustrative purposes, a total of €29,213,560 has been paid in 2024 to date. A breakdown of both this, and the number of participating services according to county is provided in tabular form below: