I empathise with parents on the issue of childcare costs and I understand that this can create significant challenges for all families. Ensuring access to high quality, affordable childcare has been a key priority for me since becoming Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and whilst much has been achieved in this regard, there is still a long way to go to transform the Irish childcare sector from one of the most expensive in the world to one of the best.
The roots of this issue lie in the chronic underinvestment in childcare over the past number of decades. Over the last three budgets (2016, 2017 and 2018), this Government has acted to address this by increasing investment in childcare by nearly 80%. However, sustained investment is needed to build the kind of childcare infrastructure needed to sustain growth in the economy.
The childcare subsidies currently available to all families can be broadly categorised into two categories; universal supports and targeted supports.
The universal Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme is available to all children regardless of their parents' employment status.
ECCE operates over a 38 week programme year from the beginning of September to the end of June. From September 2018, all children meeting the minimum age requirement of two years and eight months will be eligible for a full two programme years on the Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE), meaning a total of 76 weeks of the scheme is available to every child, free of charge.
The non means-tested subsidy of up to €1,040 per year for children under three years introduced last September is also a universal scheme and provides an important first step towards lowering the cost of childcare for working families and those wishing to return to employment. This subsidy equates to six week's free childcare based on the national average and one month in the capital where childcare costs are higher. As 20 July, the families of more than 38,000 children had benefitted from this new measure.
It is also important that we support families to return to work by subsidising the cost of childcare for families who are earning low incomes and individuals who are engaged in training to upskill and re-join the workforce. Enhanced subsidies of up to €145 per week for children up to the age of 15 are available for families that need it most and as of 20 July more than 40,000 children have registered for these enhanced targeted subsidies.
We are also making progress on the development of the new affordable childcare scheme; which will amalgamate the above supports into a single, easy to use system which will provide both universal and targeted supports.
To enable this, childcare support has been enshrined in primary legislation for the first time. There will be a clear legal entitlement to financial support for childcare costs, benefiting generations of families to come. The Childcare Support Act was signed by President Higgins last month, having received widespread, cross-party support.
The contract to build the IT system which will deliver the scheme has been awarded to Codec, following a rigorous public procurement process. The IT system is a central element of the ACS as it will allow people to apply online for a childcare subsidy, and in the vast majority of cases, be automatically assessed and approved in a timely, user-friendly way. The system will be developed by Codec, working in close collaboration with my Department and Pobal, who will act as the scheme administrator.
Once launched, the ACS will provide financial support to help reduce the cost of childcare for parents. Through this financial support, the scheme aims to improve access; assist families to return to work and training; reduce child poverty; and improve outcomes for children.
The ACS should impact positively on supporting all parents. By providing financial assistance towards the cost of childcare and by moving towards an income-based system for subsidies, the ACS will contribute to supporting child development as well as employment and labour market participation nationally. Similarly, an important policy objective of the ACS is to support increased female labour market participation. As such, it is intended to have a positive impact on gender equality with reference to labour market participation and employment opportunities.
Further I would mention that I have commissioned experts to look at what the real cost of delivering childcare is so that the Government can be better informed of what appropriate fees are, and the level of funding that is required to subsidise fees for parents. The independent review of the cost of delivering quality childcare, which is currently being carried out by a specialist company, Crowe, represents a key milestone in the on-going reformation of childcare in Ireland. It offers a unique opportunity to revisit the approach to, and the levels of childcare funding.
Although my Department has been successful in securing additional funding for this sector over the past three budgets, as outlined above, it is acknowledged that much more must be done if we are truly to have affordable, accessible, quality childcare and continue to improve both the affordability and quality of childcare.
To this end I will continue to engage with Government colleagues with a view to securing additional investment for the childcare sector in future budgets to build the childcare infrastructure needed to sustain the economy and support families in Ireland.
