Early learning and care and school age childcare services are all private enterprises with 25% of them operating on a not for profit basis. The majority of services are contracted with my Department to provide schemes which subsidise the cost of the service to eligible parents, or in the case of the universal pre-school programme, ECCE, to provide these 15 hours per week at no cost to the parent. Providers are generally free to set their own policies regarding the charging of fees for services other than ECCE.
Two recent exception to the general freedom of services to set their own fees policies were:
- the requirement that services in receipt of the Temporary Wage Subsidy for Childcare Scheme (over April, May and June) could not charge any fees to parents, and
- the requirement that services which are reopening over the summer, and are in receipt of a Reopening Support Payment, cannot increase their fees above the level which was charged in March 2020, before the Covid closures.
Now that a majority of childcare services that normally open over the summer have reopened, my Department, together with representatives of the sector, is currently reviewing proposals for the full reopening of the sector in late August / early September. This review includes consideration of potential State supports for the sector to assist it to retain capacity in the short term as the economy recovers and more people return to work and require childcare. Just as my Department has done since creches were closed on March 12, we are committed to providing any essential financial support to ensure that businesses remain sustainable. We hope to finalise our assessment of essential need and to develop a proposal for Government approval within the coming weeks. It is our intention that this proposed funding will cover any additional costs arising from COVID and prevent services having to pass on any increased costs to parents.
Separately, any service provider in financial difficulty can request State support and advice through a Case Management process which my Department delivers through the local County Childcare Committees (CCC’s) and Pobal. This can include help with completing and interpreting analysis of staff ratios, fee setting and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances. Financial supports are available for community services which are facing sustainability issues. Providers in need of support should contact their local CCC in the first instance.
