Please see the below important update for ELC/SAC providers on the increase to the minimum subsidy rate & certain sponsor rates for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).
NCS subsidy change
As previously communicated, from 2 September 2024, the minimum rate for NCS subsidies will increase from €1.40 to €2.14.
There will be no change to sponsor rate for children aged 0-52 weeks however, the remaining sponsor rates will have the max rate increased to €5.30 as demonstrated below.
| Current Max Rate | New Max Rate | |
| 1 to 2 years | €5.00 | €5.30 |
| 3+ years | €4.54 | €5.30 |
| School Age | €4.31 | €5.30 |
The increase, which was introduced by Minister Roderic O’Gorman as part of Budget 2024 measures, means that if parents are in receipt of a subsidy which is less than the maximum, they will receive a higher subsidy towards their childcare fees.
Awards will be recalculated with this new rate and updated accordingly. This will affect existing claims. Service providers do not need to modify the claim if the hours are remaining the same.
Identifying affected claims
To assist with identifying which NCS claims in your service have been impacted, a new page called ‘Budget 2024 Claims affected’ will be available on the Early Years Hive from 3 May 2024. This page will be under the NCS section of the Programmes menu on Hive and will display the claims that will change during the uplift process.
Please note that the uplift process may take up to 8 days from next week and not all of the claims will be available on this page from day one.
