Many families avail of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) as a way to reduce the cost of their early learning and childcare. NCS subsidies are awarded as an hourly rate, along with a maximum number of weekly hours that the subsidy will be paid for. It is between the parent and provider to agree on the hours of early learning and childcare based on the family's requirements and what sessions the provider can offer.
The rules of the Scheme are designed to be very flexible. In brief, if a child under-attends for eleven consecutive weeks followed by one full week of attendance, no action will be taken and the child's subsidy will not be revised. The child can follow this attendance pattern indefinitely and the award will not be revised. It is only if continual under-attendance is recorded for a consecutive 12 weeks that the award will be revised to reflect the child's actual hours. This is to reflect the diverse circumstances that may affect a child’s attendance, including illness and changes in work pattern.
Additionally, in some cases, the provider can apply for an exemption based on special circumstances that allows the child to under-attend for a further 4 consecutive weeks, for a total of 16 weeks under-attendance. Special circumstances may include the need to attend certain medical or therapeutic appointments.
To be clear, the NCS award will not be adjusted after just six weeks of under-attendance.
The accurate recording of children’s attendance hours is a key financial and governance control to ensure that Exchequer funding is used responsibly, and not to fund full-time places in respect of a child actually attending part-time hours.
I have always been clear in communicating that the €200 per month commitment is over the lifetime of this Government. While Shaping the Future, the Early Years Action Plan Phase 1 Report, sets out the next steps towards this long-term ambition, I have not waited until now to take action. In September 2025, maximum fee caps were extended to all Partner Services in Core Funding. Budget 2026 also enables Core Funding to continue to support fee-control measures. It will ensure fees remain at 2021 levels for a majority of providers.
The report sets out Phase 1 actions, which will be carried out in 2026 using existing policy tools. Shaping the Future’s 2026 actions on affordability will include further reduction in some of the highest fees paid by parents by lowering the maximum fees that Core Funding Partner Services can charge. In addition, from autumn 2026 we will reduce fees for lower-income families through the National Childcare Scheme, to ensure that families with incomes below the relative income poverty line receive the maximum subsidies.
Phase 2 actions will be undertaken from 2027 to 2029. While we need to make progress quickly, the actions we take must be sustainable, underpinned by public consultation and research, and delivered in a way that supports families, the workforce and service providers. That is why a broad public consultation will be undertaken, in line with the Programme for Government commitment, to inform the identification of further actions. Phase 2 actions will be published later in 2026 and will include a roadmap to reduce parental fees to maximum to €200 per month over the lifetime of the Government.
