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Childcare Costs

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 December 2020

Thursday, 10 December 2020

Questions (313)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

313. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department has completed a feasibility study on introducing a cap on childcare fees. [42592/20]

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Written answers

Among the range of commitments in the Programme for Government, addressing affordability in early learning and care and school-age childcare is a priority for me. I am confident that work underway through First 5, in particular the development of a new funding model will deliver on this. 

Annual investment in early learning and childcare has increased by 141% since 2015. This funding has been directed towards improving accessibility, quality and affordability. It has, for example, funded a second year of the free pre-school programme and enabled the introduction of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).  

Notwithstanding this progress, the cost of early learning and care and school age childcare remains unacceptably high for parents.  

In addition to further investment, and First 5 has committed to a doubling of investment, a key project to address affordability is the development of a new funding model. An Expert Group is leading on this work, with a central objective being to consider a mechanism to control fees.

Extensive research has already been commissioned to inform the Expert Group's work. The Research Partner, Frontier Economics, have so far produced and published five working papers, with three that directly address affordability issues entitled: “International Comparisons of Fees, Staff Wages and Public Investment in Early Learning and Care”; “International Approaches to Funding Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare to Reduce Costs for Parents”; and “Mechanisms to Control Fees Charged to Parents for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare”.  The research identifies international practice and learning that will be of value for the reform of the funding model in Ireland.

The recommendations of the Expert Group will be made in Autumn 2021 and will set out how the additional funding pledged in First 5 can deliver optimally for children, families and the State. Further information on the progress of this work, and the working papers published to date, can be found at first5fundingmodel.gov.ie

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