Government to spend €190k to research if childcare is more affordable under national scheme

The research will be completed in the context of the programme for government aim to 'progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child'.

The Government is set to spend up to €190,000 on research to establish if the National Childcare Scheme has actually made childcare more affordable and accessible for children, and if it has increased female participation in the workforce.

The Department of Children has gone out to tender for the project, due to begin in January, with a final report expected in March 2027.

The research will also be completed in the context of the programme for government aim to “progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child”.

“To progress this commitment, a detailed action plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare system will be developed,” it said.

The National Childcare Scheme was first launched in 2019 as the first ever statutory entitlement to financial support for early learning and childcare, replacing legacy schemes that were founded in medical card and social protection entitlements.

The department said it was designed to be progressive, in providing higher financial supports to those on lower incomes. From just 5,149 covered by the scheme in the first year, this rose to 218,401 children in 2024.

Research carried out after the first year suggested almost two in five (38%) of families had half or more of their childcare costs covered by the scheme, while more than half (56%) said the scheme meant they had more money to spend.

However, the Government was criticised after the recent budget, which did not move towards the programme for government’s promised €200 a month cost.

Children's minister Norma Foley did not give a timeline but indicated it would happen “over the lifetime of Government”.

In its tender documents, the department said the research must evaluate whether the National Childcare Scheme in its current form is meeting its direct and indirect aims.

Under direct aims, it lists things such as reducing the net cost for parents of childcare and early learning, lower-income parents receiving the most subsidy and comprehensive national coverage.

Some of the indirect aims reference issues such as a long-term reduction in child poverty and more people with young families able to enter or return to the workforce.