Written answer
Childcare Services
From September 2027, lower maximum fees will apply across all Core Funding fee bands, including Band F, alongside increased NCS subsidies and over €80 million in provider support. The Department cannot yet provide counts of providers in Bands E and F; new registration data is expected to help.
156. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration is being given to extending the revised childcare fee cap, or introducing alternative cost-reduction measures, for families using childcare services operating within Band F (50+ hours per week); if she is aware of concerns that many childcare providers in areas such as Lucan operate exclusively within Band F and that families continue to face high costs and difficulty securing childcare places. [74686/26]
Comment on this
157. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will clarify whether the €550 monthly childcare fee cap announced in Budget 2027 applies solely to childcare services operating within Band E (40-49.9 hours per week) under the core funding scheme; and if she will provide details of the number of childcare providers operating within Bands E and F, respectively. [74685/26]
Comment on this
I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 157 together.
From September 2027, the maximum fees that early learning and childcare providers in receipt of Core Funding can charge will be reduced across all fee bands.
Approximately 23% of services will be expected to lower at least one fee from this date. All remaining services with fees below the new caps will continue to be subject to existing fee controls.
Over €80 million is being allocated to support providers in adhering to this change to fee management conditions. The total allocation for year 6 of the scheme, commencing in September, is projected to exceed €650 million. This represents a 35% increase over year 5.
The table below outlines the maximum weekly fees currently allowable for each Fee Band and the maximum fees allowable for each Fee Band from September 2027 (before State subsidies under the NCS are deducted). Examples of National Childcare Scheme (NCS) universal subsidies which offset these fees are also provided.
From September 2027, the universal subsidy for children up to and including senior infants will rise to €2.50 per hour. The universal rate of €2.14 per hour will be available to all children from 1st class up to the age of 15 years. In addition, the base income threshold below which parents can receive the maximum income-assessed subsidies under the NCS will be increased from €34,000 to €38,500 reckonable income, and the Multiple Child Deductions that apply to income-assessed NCS subsidies will also be increased.
Table 1:
Lower fee caps, together with increased NCS subsidies, will reduce the amount many parents will pay for early learning and childcare.
For example, the maximum parental payment for 45-hour place for a child receiving 45 hours of universal subsidy per week will fall by 25% for children all children up to the end of senior infants (from €183.70 to €137.50) and by 16% for children from 1st class upwards (from €183.70 to €153.70) (see table below)
Table 2: Maximum parental payment for 45-hour place for a child on universal subsidy
It is worth noting that it would be highly unusual for a child in 1st class or above to need 40+ hours of childcare during term time, given they would already likely be in a school setting for over 20 hours per week.
Because of the increase in the universal subsidy-rate under the NCS, there will also be reductions for parents of children up to the end of senior infants in services charging the average fees as outlined in the table below.
Table 3: Parental payment for a child on the average (median) fee claiming 45-hours universal subsidy.
The examples provided above are for families accessing the universal subsidies under the NCS. Families on lower incomes can qualify for higher, income-assessed subsidies under the NCS.
Services offer a diverse range of fee options to parents, and many of these offers are in multiple Fee Bands. Some services offer both early learning and care and school age childcare, some services offer early learning and care only and some offer school-age childcare only. Some services operate in term only, while others are year-round and their fee options vary - in term and out of term.
Information on the number of parents availing of the diversity of service types by Core Funding Partner Services is not currently available to the Department. New data that is starting to be captured as part of NCS registrations should provide this information in future, however gathering and analysis of this new data will take some time.