Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
950. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actual full year cost incurred in 2025 arising from the increase in the universal hourly subsidy under the national childcare scheme from €1.40 to €2.14; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30458/26]
View answer952. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full year cost, based on current numbers, of increasing the universal hourly subsidy under the national childcare scheme by €1, bringing it to €3.14 per hour for a maximum of 45 hours per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30460/26]
View answer953. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full year cost, based on current numbers, of increasing the universal hourly subsidy under the national childcare scheme by €2, bringing it to €4.14 per hour for a maximum of 45 hours per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30461/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 950, 952 and 953 together.
The Deputy has requested the actual full year cost incurred in 2025 arising from the increase in the universal hourly subsidy under the national childcare scheme from €1.40 to €2.14. The Deputy has also requested the estimated full year cost of increasing the universal hourly subsidy available under the National Childcare Scheme by €1 to €3.14 per hour, and by €2 to €4.14 per hour, for a maximum of 45 hours.
NSC Full Year Cost for 2025
The value of NCS claims in 2025 was €527,682,404. Please note that this year end figure is not yet finalised and is subject to change.
Currently, all families with children attending a registered childcare provider or childminder can avail of €2.14 per child per hour towards their costs under the universal subsidy for a maximum of 45 hours per week. This subsidy can contribute up to €96.30 per week for families availing of 45 hours of childcare per week. The most recent increase of the universal subsidy was implemented in September 2024, when the rate increased 53% from €1.40 to €2.14.
The number of children using the Scheme has grown by over 70% since 2022 due to enhancements further improving the affordability of childcare for parents. These include the extension of the upper age eligibility for the Universal award from 3 years of age to 15 years of age in August 2022. This growth was further supported by Core Funding, which aims to ensure affordability for parents through fee management conditions and ensuring that providers offer NCS and ECCE to all eligible children.
All of these changes have contributed to significant growth within the Scheme. For this reason, it is not possible to isolate the total cost incurred by a single change, such as increasing the subsidy from €1.40 to €2.14 an hour.
Estimated Full Year Cost of Increasing NCS Universal Subsidy.
The ESRI SWITCH model has been used to estimate the impact of increasing the universal subsidy by €1 and applied to the Department's baseline NCS cost for 2026. The annual cost of the proposed change was estimated at €210.24 million.
The same process using the ESRI SWITCH model has also been used to estimate the impact of increasing the universal subsidy by €2 and applied to the Department's baseline NCS cost for 2026. The cost of the proposed change was estimated at €436.88 million.
It is important to note that this costing is made on the basis of a static system. This means that the model assumes that the current uptake of eligible childcare does not increase or decrease. In addition to annual growth in NCS demand over time, the changes to subsidies presented above would create changes in the behaviours of families. For example, it may influence parents’ decisions to return to or increase their labour force participation, meaning some families may use formal Early Learning and Care for the first time.
