Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020
707. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing the subsidy under the affordable childcare scheme from €20 to €100 per child, per week. [18222/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe estimated full year additional cost of this measure would be €81m, in a full year.
The National Childcare Scheme subsidy payments are paid weekly and are calculated by taking the hourly subsidy awarded to a child and multiplying it by the number of hours they attend a service or the maximum number of hours awarded to them per week (whichever is fewer).
The National Childcare Scheme's existing universal element allows all children aged under three years or over three and not yet qualified for the ECCE scheme, a minimum subsidy of €0.50 per hour for the maximum number of hours allowed under the scheme.
The cost of a universal subsidy of up to €100 weekly, which would increase the universal subsidy to €2.23 per hour, would be calculated by:
- establishing the number of families with children under 15 years by income bracket (data supplied by CSO)
- profiling these families by reference to the age of their children
- estimating the proportion of children in each income bracket and age range using centre-based care and
- calculating estimated subsidy rates based on income levels and age profile and
- applying estimates of the average hours used by age group for term time and non-term time
|
Increase |
|
|
September to December 2020 cost |
€30m |
|
2021 cost |
€81m |
