57. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress that has been made and is planned to reduce the childcare cost to €200 per month over the lifetime of the Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47547/26]

Shaping the Future: The Early Years Action Plan, Phase 1 report (published on 17th December 2025) sets out measures to achieve key Programme for Government commitments on the affordability, quality, and accessibility of early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC). The Action Plan adopts a phased approach that enables action to be taken in 2026 while allowing adequate time for a broad public consultation and analysis on longer-term actions. Results of this consultation, as well as additional analysis, will inform Phase 2 of the Action Plan. Phase 2 actions will be published later in 2026 and will be undertaken from 2027 through to the end of 2029.

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. The fee-freeze and maximum fee-caps required for Core Funding have been key to the progress in recent years in making ELC and SAC services more affordable. 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 out of pocket costs for lower-income families through the National Childcare Scheme.

These measures include:

- 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.

I recently announced the details of a further reduction in maximum fee caps for the Core Funding programme year 2026/2027, beginning September 2026. These latest maximum fee caps, which apply to all Core Funding Partner Services, will place a limit on the maximum fees that can be charged. Under the new maximum fee caps, the highest possible upfront cost for a typical full day place of 45 hours per week will drop from around €198 per week to €183.70 per week, with universal subsidies under the National Childcare Scheme. Higher subsidies are available for many parents, depending on their level of income and the age and number of children in their family.

While the majority of parents are already paying below the new maximum fees and will continue to benefit from the fee freeze introduced in 2022, a parent currently paying the maximum fee of €354 for 50 hours of care or more per week will see their weekly costs reduce by €18, in line with the reduction in the maximum fee for that level of care, to €336 from September. If this parent is availing of the full NCS subsidy entitlement, under the universal subsidy, their maximum out-of-pocket weekly costs will not exceed €239.70.