Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 July 2022
450. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children in the State from Ukraine under the Temporary International Protection Directive who he expects will qualify for the national childcare scheme; if they will qualify for the universal or means-tested subsidy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35821/22]
View answerBeneficiaries of the Temporary International Protection Directive are not currently eligible for supports under the National Childcare Scheme.
Their exclusion from the NCS is being rectified by way of an amendment to the Childcare Support Act 2018, which is being brought as part of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022, which is currently before this House., and which I hope can be passed within the next week.
These families will then be able to access NCS supports on the same basis as other families, including universal and means tested supports, and sponsorship from bodies such as Tulsa and local authorities.
All children aged up to 15 who are beneficiaries of the Temporary International Protection Order will qualify for NCS supports. There were, as of end June, over 40, 000 people from Ukraine in the State, based on the number of PPSN allocations. Approximately 30% of the total, 12, 000 individuals, are aged under 15 and therefore eligible for NCS supports. As the NCS is a demand led scheme it is not possible to accurately estimate the number of children who will attend childcare with NCS supports, as this is dependent on the childcare choices made by individual families.
