Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
869. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality what assessment has been carried out on the risk of closure or reduction in opening hours of community childcare services following the withdrawal of CCS and full implementation of the national childcare scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37005/26]
View answerThe Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP) Saver Programme is a legacy programme that supports parents/guardians on a low income to avail of an early learning and childcare place at reduced cost at participating services. It closed permanently in November 2019 with the introduction of NCS and remains in place on a transitional basis while children age out.
The early learning and childcare sector is currently entirely privately delivered, with three quarters of operators established on a for-profit basis and one quarter of a not-for-profit basis. Following on from the publication of Partnership for the Public Good in 2021, the sector has seen substantially increased public funding accompanied by significantly greater levels of public management.
Government sees a role for both private and community services in the early learning and childcare sector and accordingly it does not differentiate between for-profit and not-for-profit services in either the eligibility criteria for or the calculation and distribution of either Core Funding or demand-side funding through the ECCE programme, the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) and Equal Start.
As of 15/05/2026 there are 338 services in contract for the CCSP Saver Programme, all of which are in contract for NCS and 245 of these services are also in contract for the ECCE programme. Approximately 40% (137 of the 338 services) are community services.
Of the 338 services who are in contract for CCSP and NCS, 323 are Core Funding Partner services.
An evaluation of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) has recently commenced. This review will assess the performance of the Scheme to date and its operation within the wider early learning and childcare funding and policy environment. The evaluation will examine whether the NCS, as part of the wider funding model, is making high-quality early learning and childcare more accessible and affordable, particularly for families in the lowest income groups and the most disadvantaged households. It will also identify any improvements that could be made to enhance accessibility and affordability and to ensure that the Scheme is working for as many families as possible.
