Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
856. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has considered innovations to reduce the amount of administration and record keeping associated with the core funding payment for childcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40350/23]
View answerI acknowledge the administrative burden for providers has increased with the introduction of new schemes, including Core Funding.
In addition to providing €27.2 million for administration under Core Funding this year, a number of steps have been taken this year to reduce the administrative workload under this Scheme.
A Universal Fee Table has been introduced, which will enable services to upload one single fee table that covers all DCEDIY schemes.
The Parent Statement has also been refined so that one agreement now covers all DCEDIY schemes and this only has to be signed once between the provider and parent irrespective of fee changes.
Moreover, applications for Core Funding included an auto-populated data function.
I have committed to engaging with a new sub-group of the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum to facilitate further progress on this issue, with this work to commence in the coming months.
