Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
813. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of NCS sponsor subsidy referrals received by her Department; the number accepted; the number rejected, per year from 2019 to 2025, and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33222/26]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help parents reduce the cost of early learning and childcare.
Subsidies are available for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years of age.
The minimum rate available to all families in Ireland is €2.14 per hour, which is available for up to 45 weekly hours. Depending on the child's age and the family's income, an additional income assessed subsidy may be available to provide additional support. This subsidy can be as much as €5.10 per hour, also for up to 45 weekly hours.
In the case of children sponsored by approved bodies, the NCS also covers the full cost of childcare. The rate of this coverage increased in 2024 to reflect a €5.30 hourly rate for all children over 1 year old. Sponsored children under 1 year old continue to receive an hourly rate of €5.87.
For your information, please see the below table which details the number of sponsor applications submitted, the number cancelled before application was fully created, and the number cancelled while the application was in draft/completed. The number cancelled before the application was created can happen where certain essential information is missing from the initial form. For applications cancelled in draft stage, this may occur if the child's PPSN is invalid, the wrong child is named on the form, or the case does not meet the sponsor criteria. Finally, some applications are rejected after they are fully completed. This may happen when the child no longer requires sponsorship or it is determined that the application does not meet the relevant criteria. All applications that were not cancelled were accepted.
|
Year |
Application submitted |
Cancelled Before Application Was Created |
Cancelled While Application was in Draft/Completed |
Note |
|
2019 |
0 |
|
|
Please note that NCS was launched in late November 2019 |
|
2020 |
1519 |
257 |
25 |
|
|
2021 |
3657 |
209 |
75 |
|
|
2022 |
5984 |
354 |
147 |
|
|
2023 |
7472 |
391 |
169 |
|
|
2024 |
9472 |
572 |
223 |
|
|
2025 |
11345 |
525 |
284 |
|
|
2026 |
3269 |
101 |
70 |
|
|
Total |
42718 |
2409 |
993 |
|
