Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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803. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if consideration has been given to concerns raised by parents regarding financial penalties imposed when they choose to collect their children early from crèches, despite having paid for full-time care; if there are any measures in place to ensure fairness in such policies; and if she will engage with childcare providers to explore a more flexible approach that reflects the needs of families while supporting the sustainability of early childhood education services. [7982/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Many families avail of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) as a way to reduce the cost of their early learning and childcare. NCS subsidies are awarded as an hourly rate, along with a maximum number of weekly hours that the subsidy will be paid for. It is between the parent and provider to agree on the hours of childcare based on the family's requirements and what sessions the provider can offer.

The subsidy is paid based on these agreed hours, and subject to the rules of non-attendance. This is a key financial and governance control to ensure that Exchequer funding is used responsibly, and not to fund full-time places in respect of a child actually attending part-time hours.

This said, the rules of the Scheme are designed to be very flexible and we recognise that there are many reasons why a child’s attendance may be occasionally less than their agreed hours. For instance, as the question details, a parent may be able to collect their child earlier than usual on occasion. To be clear, this will not affect their award or the subsidy received. It is only if continual under-attendance is recorded for a consecutive 12 weeks will the award be revised.

In full detail, if a child attends fewer than their agreed hours for a consecutive 8 week period, a warning will issue to the parent alerting them to the situation. At this point, if the child attends their agreed hours for a full week after this warning is issued, then no further action is taken. However, if the under-attendance continues for a further four weeks, the number of subsidised hours awarded under the Scheme will be revised to reflect the average number of hours that were actually attended by the child over the previous 12-week period.

It is unclear exactly what 'financial penalties' are being referred to in the question, however any service who has signed up to Core Funding must adhere to the Agreement for the Provision of Core Funding. If the financial penalties being imposed on parents were not part of the services 2021 Fee Policy, then they may be in breach of the following rule:

“7.4.4. A change to a Fee Policy after 30 September 2021 which results in an increased charge to parents/guardians and which is not proportionate, or is not entirely optional to parents/guardians, is considered to be a breach of the rules.”

The ‘Fee Policy’ refers to a table of fees contained within the Parent Statement for Partner Services (or fee list for Fees Charged prior to the Parent Statement being introduced) which are charged for individuated Service Types and the conditions that apply in implementing the list of fees.

The Fee Policy will state all of the Service Types offered; care types, hours of care, applicable age ranges, etc. and the associated fees for each (before the application of NCS subsidies and before and after the deduction of ECCE subsidies). It will also describe any Additional Services in addition to basic fees and the cost of that additional service.

If a parent/guardian has concerns that their provider has not followed the above procedure, or in the event that they wish 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) for support and guidance.

It should be noted that the Department does not control the type or duration of sessions the small minority of services who are not in Core Funding offer either within or without of the NCS.

Finally, the Department is aware that not all parents are able to find providers who offer the exact hours that they require. If a parent chooses an early learning and childcare provider who does not, for instance, offer part-time places, it may be beneficial for them to engage with their CCC to ascertain whether there are any alternatives in their locale. The CCCs are available to assist parents experiencing difficulties in relation to their early learning and childcare provision. Contact details for CCCs may be found here: www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/4153b-city-and-county-childcare-committees/