Press Release 29th August, 2024
- New subsidy rates under the National Childcare Scheme effective from 2 September.
- Fee cap for new services in Core Funding Scheme this year, extending to all services from September 2025 will stipulate a maximum fee that participating providers may charge, as part of a move towards a National Fee Structure.
- Record numbers of children now benefitting from supports under the National Children Scheme.
- OECD data reveal marked improvements across affordability indicators for early learning and childcare.
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman today welcomed the introduction of new subsidy rates under the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), which is set to substantially reduce out-of-pocket costs for early learning and childcare for tens of thousands of families across the country.
From 2 September, the minimum hourly subsidy under the NCS for children under 15 will increase by 53% – from €1.40 to €2.14.
For families using Tusla-registered early learning and childcare, the subsidy increase represents total cost reductions of up to €96.30 weekly per child, or over €5,000 annually.
From 2 September, the hourly subsidy under NCS sponsor referral programme, which makes special provision for vulnerable children, will also increase.
These latest changes to the NCS build on significant enhancements to the Scheme introduced by Minister O’Gorman in 2022 and 2023:
- The practice of deducting hours spent in pre-school or school from NCS awards was discontinued in April 2022.
- The universal subsidy under the NCS was extended to all children under 15 in August 2022 (from all children under three).
- The universal hourly subsidy under the NCS was increased to €1.40 in January 2023 (from €0.50 per hour).
Read the full press release here: gov – Thousands of families to benefit from substantial reductions in early learning and childcare costs from 2 September (www.gov.ie)
