Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The total allocation for early learning and childcare in 2025 is €1.37 billion - €1.25 billon of which is allocated through Together for Better, the funding model for early learning and childcare, specifically:

• €269.3m for the ECCE programme
• €80.9m for the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM)
• €529.8m for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS)
• €17.2m for Equal Start.
• €353.2m for Core Funding

Core Funding, which was first introduced in 2022, includes a fee management system.

In the first two years of this Scheme, which enjoyed participation rates of approximately 95%, providers agreed to freeze their fees at September 2021 levels. This ensured the increases in the National Childcare Scheme subsidies over that period were felt in full by parents.

This fee freeze remains in place for a majority of services for year 3 of the scheme and 93% of providers – or over 4,400 - are participating.

However, in light of concerns about the fee freeze raised by some providers charging low fees, a fee increase assessment process was introduced, whereby services with fees below the average in their county could apply to increase their fees up to an approved level by the Department.

To mitigate any impact of any approved fee increase on parents, an upper limit of €33.30 was placed on any approved fee increase. This ensured any approved fee increase did not increase out of pocket costs for early learning and childcare to parents, owing to equivalent increases in the NCS universal subsidy last September.

In addition to the fee increase assessment process, a fee cap was also introduced for services joining Core Funding for the first time - creating a maximum price that can be charged for early learning and childcare, thereby bringing the highest fees charged down. This fee cap will be extended to all services from September 2025.

Providers not participating in Core Funding can, as private businesses, set their own fees. For the current programme year, services not participating in Core Funding remain eligible to provide the National Childcare Scheme, the ECCE programme and the Community Childcare Subvention Plus Saver programme.

There are commitments in the new Programme for Government to review and increase Core Funding, ensure that providers’ fees are open, transparent and equitable and readily available to parents and to maintaining the fee cap. These form part of a wider suite of ambitious commitments that seek to make further progress on making high quality early learning and childcare more affordable and accessible by this Government.