Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
878. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the ongoing engagement she is having with childcare providers in relation to the administration of the national childcare scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6029/26]
View answerSimplify and Support was launched on the 17th December 2025, this Action Plan has been informed by an independent review by Indecon Economic Consultants and as well as regional consultation events attended by over 400 stakeholders last year.
Its development was supported by a Working Group of officials from the Department, City/County Childcare Committees and Pobal and an Advisory Group of provider, educator/practitioner and parent representatives.
It delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to reduce the administrative burden on early learning and childcare providers. This Action Plan responds to these issues by setting out the steps to be taken- in the short, medium and long term - to reduce administration and simplify regulatory requirements in this sector.
The Action Plan commits to the introduction of a long term chick for the NCS. It also commits to develop of a single set of comprehensive regulations covering all centre-based services, to develop a Single Compliance Framework for all early learning and childcare funded programmes and schemes, the consolidation of AIM, AIM Plus and AIM Non-Term application into one application and to delivering phased upgrades to the existing system (the HIVE) and other key systems.
The Department will hold overall responsibility for the Action Plan but will be establishing a Cross Sectoral Group in the coming months to provide oversight, in continued collaboration with key stakeholders. A Mid-Term Review will be conducted in 2028 to assess progress, and an Evaluation will be completed in 2030 to assess long-term impacts
I have also established an Early Learning and Childcare Provider Consultative Forum, to build on the Department’s strong commitment to, and track record in, engaging with stakeholders in the sector through the Department’s advisory, oversight, consultation and research processes. Under the Terms of Reference the Early Learning and Childcare Provider Consultative Forum discusses policy and operational issues relating to the provision of early learning and childcare services. The Forum informs members of early learning and childcare developments and invites the views, concerns and suggestions from providers, as appropriate. Meetings were held on 17 Sept 2025 and 5 November 2025.
The Department will soon commence an evaluation of the NCS. This will include consultation and engagement with parents, educators, practitioners, providers and representative organisations. This evaluation will examine how the NCS is performing currently and identify ways in which the NCS can better support families. As part of this evaluation, the hours-based model of the NCS will be reviewed.
The administrator for the scheme is Pobal. For specific queries, the local City and County Childcare Committee and Parent Support Centre are able to provide further assistance
