1086. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the childcare affordability measures currently under consideration by her Department in advance of Budget 2027; whether changes to national childcare scheme subsidy rates are being examined. [65655/26]

Shaping the Future sets out measures to achieve key Programme for Government commitments on the affordability, quality, and accessibility of early learning and childcare (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 on longer-term actions.

As set out in Phase 1 of Shaping the Future:, further enhancements to the income-assessed subsidy were introduced for September 2026. These include increasing the lower income threshold from €26,000 to €34,000 and the upper threshold from €60,000 to €68,000, improving affordability for up to 47,000 children from lower-income families.

Phase 2 actions will be published in a Q4 2026 report and will be undertaken from 2027 through to the end of 2029. Before Phase 2 actions can be specified in line with the Programme for Government commitment, a broad public consultation process is currently underway.

An evaluation of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is also underway, which aims to assess the performance of the NCS to date and its operation within the wider early learning and childcare funding and policy environment. The evaluation will examine whether the NCS, as part of the wider funding model, is making high-quality early learning and childcare more accessible and affordable, particularly for families in the lowest income groups and the most disadvantaged households. It will also identify any improvements that could be made to enhance accessibility and affordability and to ensure that the NCS is working for as many families as possible. The evaluation process commenced in March 2026 and will include consultation and engagement with parents, educators/practitioners, providers and representative organisations.

Regarding Budget 2027, work is currently underway preparing forecasted budgetary requirements for 2027 for early learning and childcare. Engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation will be ongoing over the coming weeks. The Department is therefore not in a position to comment further on Budget 2027 discussions at this time.