Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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151. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has overspent on the research and development project on a National Childcare Agency; and if she will outline amount of overspent. [28590/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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A competitive process was undertaken by the Department in order to procure business and management consultancy services in relation to the planning and design phase of the National Early Learning and Childcare Agency. The Department engaged independent consultants Indecon in December 2023, to undertake this phase of wok. The total fixed project fee for the term of the contract awarded was €351,104, inclusive of VAT. This was the amount paid out to the successful contractor in relation to the work on this phase of the project.

All other spend including the cost of staging 13 consultation events throughout the country, facilitation services and summary findings provided by Thinkpeople, 13 Programme Oversight Board meetings and other ancillary costs related to the project accounts for the remainder of the total spend which was €617,000.

In each year of the work on the project, the spending levels have been under the allocated budget for that year.

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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152. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timeframe for the Government moving towards the target of €200 per month for childcare costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29165/26]

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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203. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the progression towards €200 per month childcare. [29153/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 203 together.

I have always been clear in communicating that the €200 per month commitment is over the lifetime of this Government. While Shaping the Future, the Early Years Action Plan Phase 1 Report, sets out the next steps towards this ambition, I have not waited until now to take action. In September 2025, maximum fee caps were extended to all Partner Services in Core Funding. Budget 2026 also enables Core Funding to continue to support fee-control measures. It will ensure fees remain at 2021 levels for a majority of providers.

A central objective of Shaping the Future is to reduce parental fees to an upper limit of €200 per month over the lifetime of the Government. However, this objective cannot be achieved through the National Childcare Scheme alone. The fee-freeze and maximum fee-caps required for Core Funding have been key to the progress in recent years in making early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services more affordable.

The Phase 1 report of Shaping the Future sets out actions which will be carried out in 2026 using existing policy tools. 2026 actions on affordability will include further reduction in some of the highest fees paid by parents by lowering the maximum fees that Core Funding Partner Services can charge. In addition, from autumn 2026 we will reduce fees for lower-income families through the National Childcare Scheme.

Specifically in relation to the National Childcare Scheme, Phase 1 of Shaping the Future commits to:

• An increase to the lower (base) income threshold of the income-assessed subsidy from €26,000 to €34,000, to ensure that families with incomes below the relative income poverty line receive the maximum subsidies.
• An increase to the upper income threshold (income limit) of the income-assessed subsidy from €60,000 to €68,000, to extend income-assessed subsidies to more families.
• An increase to the multiple child deduction (MCD) component of the income-assessed subsidy for families with two children under the age of 15 from €4,300 to €5,500, and for families with three or more children under the age of 15 from €8,600 to €11,000