Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 July 2026
346. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the impact of recent fee caps and affordability measures on childcare costs for parents; the estimated average saving per family; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53767/26]
View answerPromoting affordability for parents is a key priority of the Department. The investment of €1.48bn secured in the 2026 budget for early learning and care and school-age childcare will allow the Department to build on recent progress in the steady reduction of fees for parents, while also supporting supply and the quality of provision.
One of the primary vehicles for meeting these goals is Core Funding, the supply-side payment to providers, which requires that participating services abide by a system of fee management in return for the significant State funding available through the Scheme. This includes a freeze on fees at September 2021 levels and maximum fee caps.
Maximum fee caps were first introduced for new entrants to the Scheme in September 2024. They were then lowered and extended to all Partner Services in September 2025. Recently, it was announced that the maximum fee caps will be reduced further for Core Funding programme year 2026/2027, beginning September 2026.
These latest maximum fee caps on all Partner Services will place a limit on the maximum fees that can be charged across all types of provision. The maximum fee to be paid by a parent for a typical full day place of 45 hours , once the National Childcare Scheme universal subsidies have been applied, will be no more than €183.70.
The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help parents reduce the cost of early learning and childcare through a subsidy paid directly to the provider that can be off set against fees charged.
In September 2026, the Income-Assessed thresholds for the scheme will increase. This was committed to in Shaping the Future: The Early Years Action Plan. This investment will support households earning below a certain amount to access higher subsidies, offsetting the cost of early learning and childcare even further.
Through increasing the NCS Income-Assessed thresholds, families whose reckonable income falls within the new thresholds will receive a higher subsidy, as they will move to a higher income-assessed rate, according to their individual circumstances. The lower threshold rises from €26,000 to €34,000, and the upper threshold increases from €60,000 to €68,000.
The Multiple Child Discount will also increase, further reducing the reckonable income for families with two or more children. This will enable those families to receive a higher subsidy and thereby reduce the cumulative burden of cost.
From September 2026, most families currently receiving an Income-Assessed subsidy will see an increase in their rate due to these changes. This investment will also support additional families to move from their existing Universal rate to an Income-Assessed subsidy where it may be of more benefit.
The increase in Income-Assessed thresholds is expected to improve early learning and childcare affordability for up to 47,000 families.
Multiple factors go in to calculating the Income Assessed award. These include income after tax, hours of subsidy claimed, parents' participation in school or work, and the child's age, among other factors. Families can use the Childcare Subsidy Calculator, available on the Hive, to calculate what their expected subsidy is.
Since the NCS is a demand-led scheme, it is not possible to accurately predict an average savings per family. Changes to the threshold may influence family behaviour in a number of ways, for example, an uptake in formal childcare by parents previously using family help or a return to the workforce. These possible behavioural changes may also be reflected differently across subsidy value cohorts.
With this said, an additional €64.1 million has been allocated to the National Childcare Scheme for 2026, making a total budget of €593.9 million. This represents a 12% increase on the 2025 allocation, reflecting anticipated growth in the uptake and usage of the Scheme.
