Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 June 2022
15. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the Transition Fund for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare and efforts to introduce a parental fee freeze; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27406/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOne of my top priorities in Government is to improve affordability of Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare for parents. The package of measures I announced in Budget 2022 is designed to ensure that fees to parents do not increase and that the full affordability benefits of the National Childcare Scheme and the Early Childhood Care and Education programme are felt without being absorbed in fee increases.
The Transition Fund starts this process and will be in place between May and August 2022. This is a temporary, once-off scheme, to support providers transition from the end of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) to the new Core Funding Scheme in September.
The main contractual requirement for the Transition Fund is that fees remain at or below September 2021 levels for the period of the scheme. This requirement will apply to all services who contract into for the Transition Fund. Participation is optional but I am very pleased that approximately 93% of providers have now signed-up and thereby have agreed to maintain their fees at or below September 2021 rates.
Core Funding is equivalent to €221 million in a full year. It will also require a commitment not to increase fees from September 2021 rates. This will ensure that parents feel the full benefits of investment into the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) and the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. This is particularly important because from September 2022, universal NCS subsidies will be extended to children of all ages up to 15.
As part of providers coming into contract for Core Funding, detailed data on their income and costs has been required. Analysis of this data will assist my Department to develop its approaches to fee management in future years, in line with recommendations in Partnership for the Public Good, the report of the Expert Group for a new funding model for this sector.
