Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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1010. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline her Department’s policy on the charging of non-refundable registration fees by early learning and care centre providers; whether this breaches the requirements of the core funding contract; if there is any upper limit to the registration fees that can be charged; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3517/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As per the Agreement for the provision of Core Funding in Programme Year 3 (2024/2025), in most instances where a parent/guardian provided a deposit or a registration fee to a 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.

The relevant clauses in the Agreement for the Provision of Core Funding Year 3 is;

7.9.1. "A Partner Service agrees that they will not charge any non-refundable deposits (including administration/registration fees/waiting list fees, etc.) to parents/guardians in the respect of their early learning and childcare service for which the deposit was paid.”

It should be noted that the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement 2024/2025 states:

“Non-Refundable Deposits” means any deposit which is charged to parents which the Partner Service will not refund. This includes administration/registration fees or other such charges.

The amount and return of deposits or registration fee is usually governed by local agreement which occurred between the Partner Service and the parent/guardian.

In such scenarios, parents/guardians should initially discuss this with the service directly. In certain cases, this step may allow for the quick resolution of the case between the Partner Service and the individual.

In the event that an individual wishes to raise a concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC).

Contact details for local CCC can be found at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/52b71-support-for-parents-city-and-county-childcare-committees/?referrer=https://www.gov.ie/childcarecommittees/