3059. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she has examined the introduction of additional targeted supports for families facing significant childcare costs; whether international models have been reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59540/26]

3060. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she has examined the introduction of additional targeted supports for families facing significant childcare costs; whether international models have been reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59542/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 3059 and 3060 together.

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 child 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.

Shaping the Future 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 of Shaping the Future, which includes review of international models and data. It is important to note that Shaping the Future builds on prior analysis conducted as part of the work of the Expert Group on a new funding model for ELC and SAC, which resulted in the report, Partnership for the Public Good.

In the context of the development of this report, the Department commissioned Frontier Economics to examine a range of international approaches to funding early learning and childcare and reducing costs for parents. The resulting paper “International approaches to funding Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare to reduce costs for parents” reviewed policy approaches across seven jurisdictions and examined mechanisms such as direct public subsidies to providers, demand-side supports for parents, fee regulation, and universal and targeted childcare schemes. The findings of this work have informed the Department’s ongoing consideration of measures to improve affordability and accessibility for families, including those facing particularly significant childcare costs.

In addition, the Department continues to monitor developments and undertake jurisdictional reviews of ELC policy and funding approaches internationally as part of its ongoing policy development and evaluation work. This reflects the Department’s commitment to learning from international experience while ensuring that measures adopted in Ireland support affordability for parents, accessibility of services, quality provision, and the long-term sustainability of the sector.