Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2023
532. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the efforts currently in hand to ensure that Ireland can have a national childcare scheme where the prices paid for childcare are similar to prices paid for childcare elsewhere across the European Union; if he will outline any recent progress in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32707/23]
View answerOECD data from 2018, before the introduction of the NCS in late 2019, showed that early learning and childcare costs in Ireland, relative to household income, were the highest in the EU for couples on low incomes and third highest for lone parents on low incomes, with couples paying on average 26.5 per cent and lone parents paying 25.2 per cent, compared to the EU averages of 9.6 per cent and 10.5 per cent respectively.
By 2021, early learning and childcare costs in Ireland fell to 14.2 per cent of net income for couples and 5.3 per cent for lone parents - compared to the EU averages of 8.1 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively.
It is important to note that these data do not take account of enhancements made to the NCS in 2022 and early 2023, these include:
- The removal of the practice of deducting hours spent in pre-school or school from NCS awards, meaning that parents are able to use their full awarded subsidised NCS hours regardless of whether their children are in pre-school or school.
- The increase in the upper age eligibility for the NCS universal subsidy from 3 years to all children under 15 years.
- An increase in the NCS minimum subsidy from €0.50 to €1.40 per hour.
I would also note that the NCS has seen a significant increase in uptake since the introduction of these enhancements with a total of 122,256 children benefiting from the NCS as of June 2023, an increase of 95% when compared to 62,795 children as of June 2022.
The fee freeze in place in 95% of services participating in the new Core Funding Scheme gives families greater certainty about what they will be charged and ensures that these enhancements to the NCS subsidies will not absorbed by fee increases. Through a combination of these measures I am working to ensure that high quality early learning and childcare is accessible and affordable to all regardless of means.
Any further changes to the NCS will be considered as part of Budget 2024 and announced on Budget day.
