Childcare subsidy extended to all under 15s

The universal NCS subsidy has been extended to all children under the age of 15.

Up to 40,000 more children will come under the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) as part of budget measures to support parents.

The universal NCS subsidy has been extended to all children under the age of 15.

This subsidy is not means-tested and currently provides 50c per hour towards the cost of a registered childcare place for a maximum of 45 hours a week.

In a bid to attract and retain childcare staff, a new funding stream to support creches and other providers is being introduced. This €69m package will help providers employ degree-qualified staff, establish career structures and improve services without increasing fees for parents.

On top of this, about 5,000 children from low-income families will benefit from the scrapping of the practice of deducting hours spent in pre-school or school from the entitlement to NCS subsidised hours.

A total of €9m has been allocated to broaden eligibility to the NCS, which the Government says shows the commitment to reform the childcare sector.

Tusla funding increase

Meanwhile, Tusla is to see its funding increase by €41m or 4.8% next year, bringing the total allocation to €899m.

The extra funds will address the increasing demand for Tulsa service and the complexity of cases.

It will also also be pumped into expanding State-run residential care and reducing the reliance on private residential care for children.

Investment will also go into improving ICT systems and data management processes and addressing issues that emerged in the aftermath of the HSE ransomware attack in May.

Some €28m has been allocated to implementing reforms set out in the White Paper on Ending Direct Provision and to establish a new international protection support service.

Overall, Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman has received an extra €182m in current expenditure and an extra €1m in capital expenditure.