Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
907. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the proposed universal rate under the National Childcare Scheme which will be introduced in September 2026, implied by her announcement of reductions in the highest fees charged to parents across the country from September 2026. [15055/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are no proposed changes to increase the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) ‘Universal’ rate from September 2026. This will remain at its current rate of €2.14 per hour, for a maximum of 45 weekly hours. What the Deputy may be referring to is a recent announcement to increase the thresholds for ‘Income-Assessed’ awards and the Multiple Child Discount.
As the Deputy may be aware, the NCS provides both Universal and Income-Assessed subsidies to help parents to meet the cost of early learning and childcare. All families may apply to receive a Universal award however, depending on the family’s circumstances, higher rates may be available through an Income-Assessed award.
In 2026, as committed to in Shaping the Future: the Early Years Action Plan, Phase 1 Report, the Income-Assessed thresholds for the NCS will increase. This is expected to improve the affordability of childcare for up to 47,000 children from lower income families.
This investment will support lower income households to access higher subsidies to offset the cost of early learning and childcare. The thresholds are changing as follows:
• The lower income threshold will increase from €26,000 to €34,000
• The higher income threshold will increase from €60,000 to €68,000
Additionally, the Multiple Child Discount will increase:
• From €4,300 to €5,500 for a family with two children
• From €8,600 to €11,000 for a family with three or more children
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. Increasing the Multiple Child Discount will further reduce the reckonable income for families with two or more children, enabling them to receive a higher subsidy and thereby reducing 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.
Shaping the Future: the Early Years Action Plan delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to publish a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early learning and care and school-age childcare system. Under the Early Years Action Plan, a key phase 1 action will be to reduce the highest fees charged to parents across the country by lowering the maximum fees that Core Funding Partner Services can charge from September 2026.
These new, lower maximum fee levels will be announced in 2026 when full financial returns from providers have been analysed. This analysis will be completed and communicated to the sector in advance of next programme year of Core Funding, to commence in September 2026.
