2959. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress to date on the programme for Government commitment to progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child through the national childcare scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57994/26]

The Phase 1 report of Shaping the Future: the Early Years Action Plan was published in December 2025. The report sets out the next steps in the delivery of a number of Programme for Government commitments relating to Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC).

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 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.

Phase 2 actions, which will be undertaken from 2027 through to the end of 2029, will be published in Q4 2026. Before Phase 2 actions can be specified, in line with the Programme for Government commitment a broad public consultation is underway. Multiple consultation channels have been used including a national online survey with over 11,000 responses and a telephone survey of approximately 600 parents with children aged under 15. In addition, 56 local consultation events were held between 20–30 April organised with the City and County Childcare Committees. There has been continued ongoing engagement through the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum throughout the consultation process. A national forum, later this year, will build on insights from surveys, events, and stakeholder engagement. Additional data-gathering and analysis is also being undertaken to inform Phase 2.