Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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690. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in relation to recent announcements of fee capping in EY & SAC, to what percent do the Department estimate parent fees will reduce to, compared to the approximate 40% of all EY & SAC fees currently paid by parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32045/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The information required to give an accurate figure on the overall reduction of income from fees is not currently available to my Department. However, I am confident that the introduction of maximum fee caps will not impact on services sustainability and will benefit families who are facing the highest fees across the country.

Around 10 per cent of Partner Services will be potentially impacted. At the same time, State funding for early learning and childcare providers through Core Funding is being increased to record levels.

Prior to Core Funding being introduced the Independent Review of the Cost of Providing Quality Childcare Services in Ireland, was published in 2020.

This review found that, on average, 60% of the income to the sector was from public funding although this varied substantially across the sector, meaning 40% of income came from private sources – primarily parental fees.

Data on provider income and cost was also collected in 2021 and 2022 by Pobal to enable similar analysis. Analysis of data collected in 2021 shows broad consistency with 2018 data.

Partner Services are required to submit validated financial returns to my Department. Early insights from submissions from the last programme year suggest that roughly 30% of income reported between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024 originated from parental fees.

Investment in Early Learning and Childcare in 2023 was €1.025 billion, exceeding the First 5 target investment five years ahead of schedule. In 2024, investment in this sector increased to €1.1 billion. The universal subsidy under NCS was €1.40 per hour for the duration of this reporting period, increasing to €2.14 from September 2024.

The introduction of maximum fee caps for all Partner Services is an important step towards the Government’s commitment to progressively reduce the cost of early learning and childcare to €200 per month per child.