Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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400. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason for the discrepancy in funding available to providers of after-school services for between junior and senior infants and first to sixth class students in the case of a childcare service (details supplied) and that funding for first to sixth class children does not cover operating costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52814/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Many families avail of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) as a way to reduce the cost of their early learning and childcare. The purpose of the NCS is to reduce the cost of childcare for parents by way of a subsidy paid directly to the childcare provider. The NCS does not purport to cover the operating costs of the childcare provider.

Core Funding is a grant for early learning and childcare (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) providers towards their operating costs. It is funding directly to providers (supply-side funding) and is designed to improve affordability for families, quality in services and sustainability for providers. In addition, there are wider financial supports available from the Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, which can be accessed through their local City/County Childcare Committee while remaining within Core Funding.

In the case of children sponsored by approved bodies, the NCS also covers the full cost of childcare. The rate of this coverage increased in 2024 to reflect a €5.30 hourly rate for all children over 1 year old. Sponsored children under 1 year old continue to receive an hourly rate of €5.87.

NCS subsidies are awarded as an hourly rate, along with a maximum number of weekly hours that the subsidy will be paid for. It is between the parent and provider to agree on the hours of childcare based on the family's requirements and what sessions the provider can offer. As per NCS rules, Providers should not register children for subsidised hours while they are availing of education (i.e. school or ECCE) at the same time. This would result in double funding, as the Exchequer is already funding a school or ECCE place for the child. This is a key financial and governance control to ensure that Exchequer funding is used responsibly.

Moving forward, the Department is commencing a larger evaluation of the NCS. This will include consultation and engagement with parents, educators and representative organisations. This evaluation will examine how the NCS is performing currently and identify ways in which the NCS can better support families. As part of this evaluation, the hours-based model of the NCS, and how it affects children of different age groups, will be reviewed.