Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 October 2020
183. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the distribution of payments under childcare schemes according to the reckonable earnings of the parents. [29171/20]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme incorporates two kinds of subsidy towards the cost of quality of childcare.
The universal subsidy is available to all parents of children aged between 24 weeks and 36 months (or until the child qualifies for the Early Childhood Care and Education programme if later). The universal subsidy is set at a rate of €0.50 per hour and is available for up to 45 hours per week. The universal subsidy is based on the child’s age, and not on income. Parents do not have to undergo an assessment of income to avail of this subsidy, therefore data is not available on the income levels of parents who apply for a universal subsidy.
For income-assessed awards, the highest levels of subsidy will go to families at or below the minimum reckonable income threshold of €26,000, with the level of subsidy tapering down smoothly as income rises towards the maximum net income threshold of €60,000.
The following table demonstrates the distribution of payments under the National Childcare Scheme according to the reckonable income of parents, up to the maximum reckonable income threshold of €60,000. Incomes have been grouped in bands of €5,000.
|
Reckonable income |
Total claims |
|
€60,000.00 |
356 |
|
€55,000.00 |
1,932 |
|
€50,000.00 |
2,417 |
|
€45,000.00 |
3,012 |
|
€40,000.00 |
2,854 |
|
€35,000.00 |
2,829 |
|
€30,000.00 |
2,735 |
|
€25,000.00 |
2,650 |
|
€20,000.00 |
2,260 |
|
€15,000.00 |
1,844 |
|
€10,000.00 |
1,313 |
|
€5,000.00 |
480 |
|
€0.00 |
764 |
