As of 14 June 2026, there are 4,402 services in contract to deliver the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), this is compared to 4,014 as of last year, representing an increase of 9.67%. Additionally, in line with the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, regulations written specifically for childminders came into effect in September 2024, making it possible for all childminders to register with Tusla and take part in the Scheme. Once a CHICK is awarded, families can choose any provider, including register childminders, participating in the NCS.
The Department funds 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs) which provide support to families and early learning and childcare providers. The network of 30 CCC across the country are in a position to assist in identifying vacant places in services for children and families who need them and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.
An independent evaluation of the NCS commenced in March 2026. This evaluation aims to assess the performance of the NCS 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 NCS is working for as many families as possible. The evaluation will include consultation and engagement with parents, educators, practitioners, providers and representative organisations.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance. Contact details for the City/County Childcare Committee may be found at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/city-and-county-childcare-committees.
On the particular issue of tax credits, I would like to advise the Deputy that tax credits have previously been considered in the context of work by the Department to reduce the cost of early learning and childcare to parents.
Research by an Inter-Departmental Group back in 2016 showed that supply-side measures (such as subsidies paid directly to providers to reduce fees to parents), rather than demand-side measures (such as tax credits to parents), represented the most effective use of Exchequer investment. This conclusion was based on international experience and on the ability to leverage quality and control fees for parents through supply-side measures.
“Demand side measures” (i.e. funding directly to parents to reduce their fees, potentially including taxation based measures such as tax credits/deductions) and “supply side measures” (i.e. funding directly to providers to assist in the meeting the cost of provision and/or to reduce parents fees) were also explored in the context of the development of the NCS.
The 2016 policy paper, which informed the subsequent development of the NCS, concluded that supply-side measures offer the State greater “steering capacity" in terms of ensuring equity of access and driving quality in early learning and childcare service. This is because a well-designed supply-side measures offers the State several policy levers (e.g. subsidy levels linked to quality, conditions for provider participation, regulation of co-payments etc.) through which policy objectives can be pursued.
More recently, the independent Expert Group convened to develop a new funding model for early learning and childcare considered tax deductions/credits as part of their work. In their 2021 report, ‘Partnership for the Public Good’, the Expert Group concluded that ‘there are downsides to channelling any of the promised additional investment into tax deductions/credits as a purely demand-side subsidy. They cannot be used to leverage quality in the same way that payments directly to providers can.
