Minister Zappone today (28th October 2016) published a policy paper on the
new Affordable Childcare Scheme for Ireland and launched an online
consultation process on the scheme.
The scheme, which was announced as part of Budget 2017, aims to make
childcare more affordable and accessible for families, by providing
universal subsidies for all children under 3 and targeted subsidies, based
on net parental income, for children up to 15 years. The policy paper
published today provides detail on the scheme and can be accessed at Policy
Paper Affordable Childcare Scheme.
The Minister is launching a consultation on the detail of the new scheme.
She invites everyone- parents, other family members, childcare providers,
childminders, advocacy groups and anyone interested in the issues- to share
their views. This feedback will then be used to refine specific design
features of the new scheme to be introduced in September 2017, as well as
informing future policy development. The online consultation can be
accessed on the DCYA home page www.dcya.gov.ie under Current Issues or you
can contact the Department of Children and Youth Affairs if you would like
a paper copy posted out to you.
The consultation builds on a previous consultation held in April/ May 2015
on priorities for Government investment in childcare. This earlier
consultation informed the 2015 Report of the Inter-Departmental Working
Group: Future Investment in Childcare in Ireland and also the Policy Paper
on the Affordable Childcare Scheme being published today.
Note for Editors/ Additional Information:
The Affordable Childcare Scheme is a new national scheme of financial
support for parents towards the cost of their childcare. It will replace
the existing targeted childcare subsidisation schemes with a single,
streamlined and more user-friendly scheme.
The new scheme will provide a system from which both universal and targeted
subsidies can be provided towards the cost of childcare.
Targeted Subsidies: In the case of targeted subsidies, these will be
payable for children from 6 months of age up to 15 years of age. The level
of subsidy will depend on a family’s net income. On its introduction in
September 2017, the scheme will provide the maximum rate of subsidy for
parents with net incomes up to €22,700 per annum. The rate of subsidy will
taper downwards as net income rises, with no income related subsidy payable
when net income reaches €47,500. The income thresholds increase where
there is more than one child in a family, so a family with two children
under 15 years of age would have a maximum net income threshold of €51,300
and a family with three children under 15 years would have a maximum net
income threshold of €55,100. The maximum subsidy per hour will depend on
the age of the child and the net income of the parents but will range from
€5.38 for a baby under 12 months to €3.96 for a school age child.
Universal Subsidies: Budget 2017 enables a universal subsidy to be payable
for children between the ages of 6 and 36 months (or until the child
qualifies for the free pre-school programme if later) who are availing of
childcare by a Tusla registered childcare service, including a Tusla
registered childminder. The universal subsidy will not be means-tested and
will be available for families at any income level. It provides up to €80
per month for a maximum 40 hours per week and will be paid pro-rate based
on hours used.
The Affordable Childcare Scheme will also create a flexible platform for
future investment in childcare funding supports, allowing net income
thresholds to be adjusted and subsidies to be expanded to more children and
families over time.
Finally, the Affordable Childcare Scheme is intended to deliver the
following benefits:
• Contribute to the reduction of child poverty.
• Enhance affordability, providing both universal and targeted subsidies
for parents towards their childcare costs.
• Be more user-friendly than existing targeted schemes for both parents
and childcare providers, enabling online applications for subsidies.
• Encourage labour market activation, through shifting the focus which
has existed historically on linking childcare subsidisation to eligibility
for social welfare benefits and medical card entitlement to income.
• Facilitate parental choice and improve access to affordable childcare
through being open to all childcare providers registered with Tusla,
including registered childminders.
• Provide a flexible platform for sustained investment in childcare in
future years so that affordability can be further strengthened, while also
providing a basis for quality improvements through supply-side funding of
childcare services.