Written answers
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Childcare Services
Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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979. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if all families deemed to have been over-charged by a facility (detailed supplied) in respect of their participation in national childcare scheme were repaid; if the payment was made in full; when that payment took place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23972/25]
Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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980. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if all families deemed to have been over-charged by early years services in respect of their participation in national childcare scheme were repaid in full; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23973/25]
Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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982. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the penalties or other actions that have been taken against a facility (details supplied) in respect of its breach of the national childcare scheme and over-charging of parents in contravention of the fee freeze. [23975/25]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 979, 980 and 982 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that I cannot comment on cases relating to individual Partner Services who are engaged with the Fee Review Process. I can however confirm that officials from my Department are currently engaged with this Partner Service on this matter.
All Partner Services must uphold their contractual obligations regarding their fees charged to parents/guardians as laid out in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.
Where an individual identifies a case of a potential breach of Core Funding fee rules by a Partner Service, they may seek to have this examined and a conclusion reached through the Core Funding Fee Review process. A document on the Fee Review Process under Fee Management can be found at: earlyyearshive.ncs.gov.ie/downloads/download-corefunding/
If, through the Fee Review Process, a Partner Service is found to have breached the Core Funding Fee Management conditions, they are required to acknowledge receipt of the Stage 2 decision and carry out the rectification actions outlined as well as complete and return the declaration:
- Restored fees to the correct level.
- Informed and refunded all parents who have been overcharged the full amount that they have overpaid, or agreed a repayment plan with them.
- Updated the relevant Fee Table and Parent Statement for Partner Services on the HIVE, posted them in public locations on the premises, and emailed them to all parents as required by the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.
Should officials of my Department identify overcharging, the Partner Service is informed that they are in breach of the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement. Once in breach, the onus is on the Partner Service to carry out remedial actions and provide payments to all affected families.
Please note, my Department does not engage in repayment plans with families affected by overcharging. The responsibility for rectifying breaches of the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement lies with the Partner Service.
If the Partner Service fails to engage, declare or complete the rectification actions set out through the Fee Review Process, Core Funding payments can be placed on hold. Following the on hold process, failure to engage can lead to the termination of the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement for the applicable year and may result in the Partner Service being unable to receive Core Funding in any future Programme Years.
Should a provider’s contract be terminated, they will no longer participate in Core Funding. Therefore, as private businesses, they can set their fees at their own discretion. Removal from the scheme would impact the significant financial supports Core Funding provides to services and the scheme’s intention to increase affordability for parents through fee management conditions, such as the associated fee freeze. Further, it would impact parents’ access to recourse regarding fees through any process governed by my Department.
If a parent/guardian wishes to raise a present concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local City/County Childcare Committee for support and guidance. Contact details for local City/County Childcare Committees can be found at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/city-and-county-childcare-committees/
Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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981. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures her Department has taken to ensure no family is being currently overcharged as per the fee structure agreed under the National Childcare scheme. [23974/25]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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All Partner Services must uphold their contractual obligations regarding their fees charged to parents/guardians as laid out in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.
Where an individual identifies a case of a potential breach of Core Funding fee rules by a Partner Service, they may seek to have this examined and a conclusion reached through the Core Funding Fee Review Process. Please see the link to the Fee Review Process Guidelines on the HIVE: earlyyearshive.ncs.gov.ie/downloads/download-corefunding/
If, through the Fee Review Process, a Partner Service is found to have breached the Core Funding Fee Management conditions, they are required to acknowledge receipt of the Stage 3 decision, and to complete the rectification actions outlined as well as complete and return the declaration:
- Restored fees to the correct level.
- Informed and refunded all parents who have been overcharged the full amount that they have overpaid, or agreed a repayment plan with them.
- Updated the relevant Fee Table and Parent Statement for Partner Services on the HIVE, posted them in public locations on the premises, and emailed them to all parents as required by the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.
Should a provider’s contract be terminated, they will no longer participate in Core Funding. Therefore, as private businesses, they can set their fees at their own discretion. Removal from the scheme would impact the significant financial supports Core Funding provides to services and the scheme’s intention to increase affordability for parents through fee management conditions, such as the associated fee freeze.
Further, it would impact parents’ access to recourse regarding childcare fees through any process governed by my Department.
If a parent/guardian wishes to raise a present concern regarding a potential breach in fee conditions, the first step is to reach out to their local City/County Childcare Committee for support and guidance. Contact details for local City/County Childcare Committees can be found at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/city-and-county-childcare-committees/
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