My Department is committed to ensuring that overall investment in the early learning and care (ELC) and school age childcare (SAC) sector is maintained and that services are sustained through this crisis.
On 26 January, the Government made the decision to extend the suspension of the free pre-school ECCE programme and to continue to restrict access to childcare services to the children of essential workers and to vulnerable children until 5 March, to help to control the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
On 27 January, the Department announced a new funding model for childcare providers from 1 February to 5 March. This new funding arrangement ensures that childcare services can remain open where they have demand for places for the children of essential workers and vulnerable children.
As part of this funding model, providers were given the option to opt into certain terms and conditions to receive enhanced payments. The payments available varied depending on the service type and whether they were open or closed.
As of 01 March 2021, 4,387 active services have at least one DCEDIY scheme countersigned contract and/or budget approval and are therefore eligible to apply for enhanced payments.
For providers within those 4,387, which are particularly dependent on parental fees, a special Covid Operating Support Payment was made available as part of these enhanced payments. 1,309 services have been deemed eligible for this payment, of which 1,226 have opted to sign up.
3,952 services signed up to have signed up to the enhanced payment under the 1 February to 5 March 2021 funding measures. The breakdown is as follows
Service Type
|
Confirmed T&Cs
|
ECCE and providing other Programmes
|
2,148
|
ECCE Only
|
1,466
|
Other Programmes but no ECCE
|
338
|
Total
|
3,952
|