Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 May 2021
12. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the national childcare scheme; the measures he has taken to allay the challenges faced by community early learning and childcare services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28572/21]
View answerThe National Childcare scheme launched in November 2019, marking the first ever statutory entitlement to financial support for early learning and childcare in Ireland.
To date, over 105,200 applications have been submitted for the NCS relating to over 99,400 children.
There are currently 911 community services contracted to provide the NCS, out of a total of just over 1,200 community services in the country.
I fully understand that change can be challenging and appreciate that some services are experiencing difficulties with the change to the NCS.
For those services experiencing difficulties, my Department oversees a case management process through which local Childcare Committees and Pobal work together to assess and provide support.
The case management process provides non-financial assistance or support in the first instance, but financial supports are also available for services presenting with sustainability issues following a financial assessment.
Any service that has concerns about their viability, should contact their local Childcare Committee in the first instance.
I would also note that services have received sustainability and other forms of financial supports from my Department and continue to receive supports through other national measures to help alleviate the impact of Covid-19 on their businesses.
Among these supports is the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), which currently covers up to 50% of the operating costs for services.
A review of the NCS has recently commenced, as required under Section 26 of the Childcare Support Act 2018. At my specific request the review will include an assessment of the Scheme’s impact on services operating in disadvantaged communities.
The review will provide a basis for my Department to consider how effectively the NCS is operating and whether it is meeting the objectives which can be measured meaningfully within the first year. It is intended to publish the findings from this Review in the last quarter of this year.
In addition, an Expert Group convened by my Department is examining the current model of funding for early learning and childcare and its effectiveness in delivering quality, affordable, sustainable and inclusive services.
The Group is considering how additional funding can be delivered to achieve these objectives, drawing on international practice in this area. The Group will submit its recommendations later this year. The development of a DEIS type model for early learning and childcare will be among the recommendations.
