Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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689. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children that avail of NCS universal fee supports; the number of children that avail of targeted NCS supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32044/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial supports to parents to help reduce the cost of early learning and childcare. The Scheme has undergone a number of enhancements in recent years to further improve affordability for parents. These include the extension of the Universal subsidy to all children under 15 and two increases to the minimum hourly subsidy, which is now worth €2.14 per hour.

These enhancements have helped to result in a positive growth in the number of families benefitting from NCS subsidies. Year-to-date a total of 192,230 children have availed of NCS subsidies - a 16% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Of these children, the largest growth is seen in the number of children benefitting from a Universal award, which is up 27% on the previous year, 2024.

A breakdown of the number of unique children currently availing of subsidies, including Sponsorship, is as follows: