The Early Childcare Supplement was introduced in April 2006 and is administered by the Department of Social and Family Affairs on behalf of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The expenditure on the Early Childcare Supplement (ECS) for 2006, in respect of non resident children, payable under EU regulations, was €0.4m, the corresponding figure for 2007 was €1.1m and for 2008 was €4.5m. The expenditure in 2009 (to end of March) is €0.69m.
The expenditure on ECS from 2006 to date in respect of non resident children, at some €6.7m, represents 0.5% of the total overall spend on ECS since 2006 of €1,260.5m. Family benefits payable under EU Regulations apply to Irish nationals working in other EU Member States, in the same way as they do to non-Irish-national EU workers in Ireland.