Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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889. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently availing of the national childcare scheme in County Louth; if she will provide a breakdown by full-time, part-time and sessional hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62862/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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During the week of 27 October 2025, a total of 4,140 children in County Louth benefitted from subsidies under the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).

The NCS is designed to be flexible in acknowledgement of the many families availing of subsidies as a way to reduce the cost of their early learning and childcare. Considering that childcare needs vary widely across families, NCS subsidies are awarded as an hourly rate along with a maximum number of weekly hours that the subsidy will be used for i.e. 45 weekly hours.

The Department does not determine what sessions an early learning and childcare provider chooses to offer as part of their service. Rather, once parents are awarded a CHICK, they choose an approved provider that meets their needs and has a space available. Ultimately, it is between the parent and provider to reach an agreement on the hours of childcare registered. The hours are agreed based on a combination of what the family requires and what the provider can offer in terms of available sessions. It is also worth noting that for many families, particularly those with children attending school or ECCE, their hours will fluctuate between term and non-term.

The NCS subsidy is applied to the hours that have been agreed between both parties - subject to attendance rules.

As NCS registrations are based on agreed hours, rather than 'session types', the Department can only provide a range of the weekly hours claimed by families. These hours do not necessarily equate to specific sessions, however they do clarify what subsidised hours families are availing of in County Louth: