Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 October 2020
182. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the distribution of payments under childcare schemes according to the age of the child and the hours claimed. [29170/20]
View answerThe level of subsidy available under the National Childcare Scheme is dependent on the age of the child in respect of whom the subsidy is paid. Children availing of a universal award receive a flat rate of €0.50 an hour. For income assessed awards, subsidies range from a maximum of €5.10 per hour for babies, €4.35 for 1 and 2 year olds, €3.95 for 3, 4 or 5 year olds prior to school entry, and €3.75 for school age children.
A universal subsidy is available for all children between the ages of 24 weeks and 36 months (or until the child qualifies for the Early Childhood Care and Education programme if later), for up to 45 hours per week. For income based subsidies, the maximum number of subsidised hours available is dependent on the work/study status of the parent. An enhanced award of up to 45 hours per week is available to parents who are engaged in work, training or study. A standard award of up to 20 hours is available to parents who are not engaged in work, training or study.
These hours are inclusive of time spent in pre-school or school. As such this distribution would substantially change if the sample was taken outside of pre-school or school term-time.
The distribution of NCS awards across ages and hours claimed over the course of one week (week ending September 28th) is detailed in the table contained in the link below. These values include claims relating to all application types – income assessed, universal, and sponsored.
