The introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding.
One of the key objectives of Core Funding is to support the sector as a whole with the introduction of direct supply-side funding, in addition to the ECCE programme and the NCS, to create a more stable and sustainable financial environment.
This funding, which increased by 11% (to €287 million) in year 2, increased again by another 15% in year 3 (to €331 million).
This funding facilitated the following changes from September:
The Base Rates for all age groups increased with larger increases in funding for places offered to children under the age of three. In short, all providers currently signed up to Core Funding will receive a higher payment going forward to support their day-to-day costs.
The flat rate for services registered on the Tusla Early Years Register as sessional-only (a pre-school service offering a programme for a total of not more than 3.5 hours per session) is increasing from €4,075 to €5,000. This will strengthen supports to sessional-only services, who typically operate for shorter hours per week and fewer weeks per year.
The minimum Base Rate allocation increased from €8,150 to €14,000. This is the minimum amount of funding a centre-based service (not childminders) will receive through their Base Rate and ensures a minimum guaranteed income for services.
Additionally, there has been changes in the Fee Management conditions of the scheme.
Up to now, services availing of Core Funding have not been allowed to raise their fees above what was charged to parents on 30 September 2021 (or at the point of first signing up for Core Funding if the service did not exist on 30 September 2021).
The fee freeze will remain in place for the majority of these services for year 3 of Core Funding, though services whose fees have been frozen at a level that may not be sufficient to sustain their business even with increased funding available through Core Funding, will have the opportunity to apply for a Fee Increase Assessment.
Only services currently charging low fees (fees below the average in their county) will be eligible to apply and the onus will be on the provider to demonstrate a need for a fee increase.
Core Funding is set to rise to a minimum of €350.64 million in programme year 4 (September 2025 – August 2026), before additional funding to support the outcomes of further Employment Regulation Order (EROs) agreed by an independent Joint Labour Committee (JLC) is considered.
This additional funding to support the outcomes of the JLC process is worth €45 million in year 4.
Further increases to Core Funding beyond year 4 (September 2025-August 2026) will be considered in the context of the estimates process.
The Together for Better Website contains a link to all current partner services. The website also contains a link to all programme year 1 (2022/2023) 22/23 Partner Services individual allocations.
Every year it is normal for some early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services to close while other new services open. Reasons for closures vary and services can provide a number of reasons for closure.
As of September 2024, 302 new ELC and standalone SAC services have opened with 112 ELC and standalone SAC services closing. Meaning there is a net increase of 190 services to date in 2024.
In 2023 there was a total of 296 services new ELC and standalone SAC services opened, with 167 services closing. Meaning there was a net increase of 113 services in 2023.
In addition to the increased level of Core Funding for year 3 of the scheme and fee management developments, there are wider financial supports available from the Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, which can be accessed while remaining within Core Funding.
If any service has viability concerns, I encourage them to reach out to their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) to start availing of supports through the aforementioned case management process.
