Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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1408. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures that will be taken to progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child through the national childcare scheme and explore options to cap costs for larger families, as per the Programme for Government; the timeline for this reduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11968/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Investment in early learning and childcare is now at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025, clearly demonstrating Government commitment to this area.

As well as addressing affordability this investment has served to improve accessibility, availability and the quality of provision.

The ECCE programme, which provides two years of pre-school without charge, enjoys participation rates of 96% each year. Over 70% of families on low income report that they would not be able to send their child to pre-school without this programme.The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) complements the ECCE programme, providing subsidies – both universal and targeted - to reduce the costs to parents for children to participate in ELC and SAC.The minimum NCS subsidy has steadily risen from €0.50 in 2022 to €2.14 per hour in September 2024 alongside extensions to eligibility. Additionally, families using a childminder can now avail of an NCS subsidy towards their childcare costs.

Record numbers of children and their families are now benefiting from the NCS. Almost 220,000 unique children benefited from an NCS subsidy in 2024.

This year, my Department will begin an evaluation of the NCS to examine how the Scheme currently operates, its impact and determine potential enhancements to the scheme.

The Government of Ireland is committed to continuing to improve affordability and reach the €200 per month cap within the lifetime of the Government including exploring options to cap costs for larger families. However, further progress on affordability cannot be made in isolation and must be integrated with our efforts to improve access, availability and quality.