Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 December 2023
455. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will review the conditions relating to subsidies in the national childcare scheme which adversely impact parents and guardians of children not availing of their quota of full-time care hours (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53264/23]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme is designed to be flexible and acknowledge that childcare needs differ widely across different families. A core design of the scheme is that parents and providers agree the number of hours of childcare required. The subsidy amount reflects those agreed hours e.g. a child receiving 20 hours of eligible early learning and childcare will receive a greater subsidy than the same child receiving 10 hours subsidy. This ensures a full-time subsidy is not being paid in respect of a child who is utilising a part-time place, and that the investment is following the child.
Equally, early learning and childcare providers are private entities. As such, they are free to set their own fees and sessions, which the Department has no control over. Depending on what sessions the early learning and care provider offers, a parent may have to pay for sessions which include hours that they do not avail of. In such cases, their NCS subsidy will only apply to hours actually attended by their child. Any additional hours will be unsubsidised.
I appreciate that there may be a disconnect between the number of weekly hours of childcare that parents require versus the types of services a particular provider offers (e.g. part-time or full-time sessions rather than an hourly rate). However, the Scheme has been designed with some level of flexibility in relation to the reporting of attendance to reflect the reality of parent's lives, including rounding up daily hours attended to a full hour total, payment for occasional under attendance (a parent won't be penalised if they pick their child up early on occasion or the child misses a session due to illness) and exemptions for extended absence under certain conditions.
The above flexibilities go some way towards off-setting the issues arising from providers offering only sessional services. Parents should discuss the hours of childcare they require with their providers and ensure they are receiving the appropriate subsidies for the agreed hours.
