Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2019
997. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the breakdown of funding announced in budget 2020 (details supplied); the amount allocated to each stream; the way in which funding for each stream is to be dispensed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44754/19]
View answerAn additional €54m of funding has been allocated to Early Years policies and programmes in Estimates 2020. This represents a year-on-year increase of 9%, and a total growth of the Early Years allocation of c. 138% since 2014.
This significant investment of public money will support the provision of affordable, accessible and quality ELC & SAC in Ireland. It has been allocated to the purposes specified as follows:
|
Area of Expenditure |
2020 Allocation |
Change to allocation |
|
The introduction of the NCS; and an increased level of uptake for both the universal under 3 subsidy and targeted subsidies to families |
€197.2m |
+€40m |
|
Meeting the continuing cost of two years of ECCE |
€297m |
-€1.1m[1] |
|
Increased funding for beneficiary elements of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) |
€31.4m |
+€10m |
|
An increase in allocation for Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate |
€5.1m |
+€0.7m |
|
Meeting additional costs associated with delivery of the schemes and the implementation of First 5 |
€50.5m |
+€5.6m |
|
Supporting quality in the sector and improving the sustainability of services |
€14.4m |
+€2.5m |
Increases to these allocations captured in the table above were offset by savings identified across Early Years Subheads of c. €3.7m.
[1] This allocation Reflects the slightly lower number of children who will be eligible for ECCE in 2020 due to the decreasing birth rate.
