Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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140. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if amendments to the national childcare scheme subsidy are being considered to allow parents flexibility in collecting children from childcare settings. [29152/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The families of almost 247,000 children availed of National Childcare Scheme (NCS) subsidies in 2025 to help offset the costs of early learning and childcare. Up to 277,000 children are expected to avail of the Scheme this year.

The NCS is designed to be flexible, recognising that early learning and childcare needs are different for each family. Under the NCS, subsidies are awarded as an hourly rate, up to a maximum number of 45 hours a week for which the subsidy applies.

The hours-based nature of the NCS is designed to fit around the needs of families and ensure that the effectiveness of funding is maximised for all. The NCS enables families to agree the number of hours to be used with their service provider within overall scheme limits. The number of hours can be altered week to week so, for example the subsidy can be increased during a school midterm where a parent requires more hours of care.

This design allows families to benefit from a subsidy for the hours they actually require.

The Department designed the NCS to also be flexible around children’s attendance, recognising that children’s attendance may vary from week to week. If a child is occasionally picked up early or misses an occasional day, this will not impact on a family’s subsidy.

Only if a child consistently attends fewer than their agreed hours for a consecutive 12-week period will the subsidy be reviewed. In the usual course, a warning will issue after 8 weeks and, if not adjusted after 12 weeks, the allocation will be adjusted to reflect the real pattern of attendance. This period can be extended under certain circumstances.

This combination of flexibility and accountability provides an appropriate balance of supporting parents and providers while also ensuring the efficient use of Exchequer funding.

An independent evaluation of the NCS has commenced in recent weeks. This evaluation will review how the Scheme has performed to date and identify any potential improvements that could be made to better support families.

As part of this evaluation, the NCS attendance rules will be examined. The findings of the evaluation will inform potential enhancements to the National Childcare Scheme to continue to support families with accessing early learning and childcare. The findings will also inform the delivery of Phase 2 of Shaping the Future, the new Early Years Action Plan, which will be published later this year.

Any future changes to the NCS arising from the findings of this evaluation will be informed by a thorough review of international literature and comprehensive stakeholder engagement.