Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 May 2026
188. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 555 of 27 May 2025, the estimated average cost, per month, of full-day childcare, broken down by county, and the average cost nationally, for the most recently available time period, in tabular form. [40675/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraFee data is provided weekly and the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) awards are made on a weekly basis, therefore information below has also been provided on a weekly basis.
Two types of subsidies are available for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years:
• A universal subsidy which is not means tested and provides €2.14 per hour, for a maximum of 45 weekly hours. A family using 45 hours of care a week who are in receipt of the universal subsidy would receive €96.30 off their weekly childcare fee.
• An income-assessed subsidy which may result in a higher hourly rate depending on factors such as the family income, child age and number of children in the family. Depending on these factors, rates may be awarded up to €5.10 per hour.
Families can use their NCS subsidy with any participating childcare provider, including childminders, who are registered with Tusla.
Each year Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile.
The most recently published fee data for the 2024/25 programme year indicates that the average (median) weekly fee per child before subsidies was €200.00 for full day early learning and care. As the distribution of fees is skewed, with most data points having low values and a few very high values influencing the mean, the median value is considered more representative of the mid-point of the data.
The fee data shows that there is a large degree of county-level variation in fees charged by services. Historically, fees have been higher in urban areas and along the East coast. The highest average fees for full day provision in 2024/25 were charged by services in Dublin – Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, where the average (median) full-time fees were reported at €265.83. The lowest average (median) full day fees (€160.00) were in Leitrim.
Table 1. Service reported average fees by county
|
County |
Median full-day weekly fee |
|
Carlow |
€163.80 |
|
Cavan |
€178.30 |
|
Clare |
€180.00 |
|
Cork City |
€228.21 |
|
Cork County |
€211.20 |
|
Donegal |
€187.50 |
|
Dublin – Dublin City |
€230.87 |
|
Dublin – Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
€265.83 |
|
Dublin – Fingal |
€247.90 |
|
Dublin – South Dublin |
€230.00 |
|
Galway |
€186.00 |
|
Kerry |
€188.88 |
|
Kildare |
€235.00 |
|
Kilkenny |
€183.30 |
|
Laois |
€180.00 |
|
Leitrim |
€160.00 |
|
Limerick |
€180.00 |
|
Longford |
€172.50 |
|
Louth |
€210.00 |
|
Mayo |
€181.96 |
|
Meath |
€211.76 |
|
Monaghan |
€165.00 |
|
Offaly |
€200.00 |
|
Roscommon |
€177.02 |
|
Sligo |
€178.30 |
|
Tipperary |
€170.00 |
|
Waterford |
€180.00 |
|
Westmeath |
€191.65 |
|
Wexford |
€185.00 |
|
Wicklow |
€253.58 |
|
National |
€200.00 |
*Average is calculated as the median value for all services
