Written answers
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Childcare Services
Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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417. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will detail the number of children in each county who benefited from supports under the national childcare scheme in 2022 and 2023, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8709/24]
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.
The success of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) in meeting families needs is evidenced through the increased level of participation in the Scheme. In 2023, a total of 182,034 unique children benefitted from a successful NCS claim - a 47% increase on the previous year.
A further breakdown according to county is detailed in tabular form as follows.
| County | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Carlow | 1,748 | 2,244 |
| Cavan | 2,534 | 3,694 |
| Clare | 2,737 | 3,807 |
| Cork | 11,083 | 17,663 |
| Donegal | 5,577 | 7,756 |
| Dublin | 33,062 | 48,723 |
| Galway | 8,710 | 13,008 |
| Kerry | 4,474 | 6,512 |
| Kildare | 4,965 | 7,444 |
| Kilkenny | 2,629 | 3,811 |
| Laois | 2,693 | 3,708 |
| Leitrim | 1,118 | 1,622 |
| Limerick | 5,249 | 7,919 |
| Longford | 1,341 | 1,711 |
| Louth | 3,065 | 4,446 |
| Mayo | 2,447 | 3,975 |
| Meath | 4,298 | 6,372 |
| Monaghan | 3,320 | 4,511 |
| Offaly | 1,146 | 1,916 |
| Roscommon | 1,728 | 2,515 |
| Sligo | 2,522 | 3,607 |
| Tipperary | 5,555 | 7,835 |
| Waterford | 3,128 | 4,368 |
| Westmeath | 2,403 | 3,644 |
| Wexford | 4,069 | 6,219 |
| Wicklow | 3,036 | 4,734 |
| Total unique children | 123,559 | 182,034 |
With regards to the above total, it should be noted that unique children are identified by their PPSN. A small number of children may have had NCS claims in different providers located in different counties throughout the year. Such children will appear in both county totals but they will only appear once in the total of unique children. For that reason, the total number of unique children may be slightly lower than the sum of the number of children in all county divisions.
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