Written answers

Wednesday, 22 January 2025

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Departmental Regulations

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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1203. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if there is any regulation around crèches asking for deposits or holding fees from parents who require their services; and if so, if it is being considered. [46939/24]

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The return of deposits is usually governed by local agreement which occurred between the parent/guardian and the service in question.

In most instances where a parent/guardian provided a deposit to a Core Funding Partner Service after 1 September 2024, the Partner Service must return this to the parent/ guardian once the child’s registration is approved on the Hive or within four weeks of the child taking up the place, whichever is sooner.

Any parent/guardian with concerns surrounding deposits in a Core Funding Partner Service is advised to discuss this with the service directly through the Partner Services Complaints Policy in the first instance.

If either party is unsatisfied with the outcome of this engagement between parent/guardian and Partner Service, they are advised to contact the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) should they wish to do so. The CCPC can inform both parties of their rights and responsibilities regarding deposits for services in specific scenarios.

With regard to Early Learning and Care services providing the ECCE programme, providers may charge a refundable booking deposit to hold an ECCE place for a child. The maximum deposit a provider may charge is equivalent to four weeks ECCE payment, which amounts to €258. This must appear on the service provider’s fees list.

The deposit must be returned to the parent or guardian once the child is registered and approved on the ECCE programme. Services may not charge any non-refundable deposit for ECCE.

Parents/guardians can also contact their local CCC for guidance regarding deposits. The local CCC can escalate this issue to the Department only if it meets the specific criteria of a deposit collected and not returned within the current Core Funding agreement programme year. This can be escalated then through the Fee Review process. Contact details for the local CCC can be found at .

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