Childcare Services

76. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to clarify the reasons for the budget announcement to reduce childcare costs to €550 per month. [78519/26]

I had not copped this question was edited. The question was to explain the budget announcement as regards the reduction of childcare fees from €750 to €550. The reasons for any reduction are quite obvious - we need to reduce childcare costs - but will the Minister of State explain specifically the reduction announced on budget day of a reduction to €550 per month?

I thank the Deputy for agreeing with the Minister, Deputy Foley, that it was okay for me to take this question on her behalf. Government is committed to reducing fees to a maximum of €200 per month over the lifetime of the Government. Several steps have been taken last year and this year to reduce costs for parents, with further measures announced in budget 2027. Measures that will come into effect in September 2027 include a lowering of fee caps for core funding partner services and increased national childcare scheme subsidies. As a result, many parents will see further reductions in the amount they pay for early learning and childcare. Later this year, the Minister will publish shaping the future, phase 2, which will set out the roadmap for how the €200 commitment will be achieved. From September 2027, the maximum fees that providers in receipt of core funding can charge will be reduced across all fee bands. All services with fees below the new caps will continue to be subject to existing fee controls. At the same time, the universal subsidy for children up to and including senior infants will rise to €2.50 per hour, or €112.50 for 45 hours per week, while changes will also be made to income-assessed subsidies. The universal rate of €2.14 per hour, or €96.30 for 45 hours per week, will continue to be available to all children from first class up to 15 years of age. It is worth noting that it would be highly unusual for a school-age child in first class or above to need more than 40 hours of early learning and childcare during term time, given they would already likely be in a school setting for 25 hours or more per week. As regards the figure of €550 per month, that will be the maximum fee for a child receiving the maximum 45 hours of State subsidy for a 45-hour place.

The first issue is that it was announced that childcare fees were going to fall to €550. Certainly, I heard from countless parents, "Is this me? Am I now paying €550 from next September?" The questions are obvious. What about those who are paying more than €750 a month, of which there are a considerable number? If this is how the Government is going to reduce childcare fees, and that is via core funding and limiting and capping fees that way, then we are not going to deliver €200 per month childcare for everybody because it will only be for people whose providers are in core funding. We have heard about this roadmap for almost two years. The general election was two years ago. The Minister of State's party leader committed to a roadmap within the first 100 days. We are well beyond that. We do not know how the Government is going to achieve €200 a month childcare. Based on this, it is really concerning as to how it is going to be achieved. When will that roadmap be published?

That roadmap is currently being worked on and it will be published later this year. In the next six to eight weeks, the Minister, Deputy Foley, will publish that roadmap. As regards the figure of €550 per month, that is the maximum fee for a child receiving the maximum 45 hours of State subsidy for a 45-hour place. The maximum parental payment for a child up to the end of senior infants who is receiving 45 hours of universal subsidy per week will fall from €183.70 per week to €137.50, which is €550 over a four-week period. That amounts to a saving of more than €2,200 a year. The Deputy is correct that many families take more than 40 hours of childcare. For example, when it comes to the 50 hours per week or more, the maximum fee for a core funding partner will be lowered from €336 per week to €300 per week. When that is combined with the increase in the universal national childcare scheme change from €2.14 to €2.50 per hour, a family being charged the maximum fee for 50 or more hours - band B and F - will save more than €52 per week. That is €2,500 over a 48-week year.

I hope the Minister and her Department will be able to provide a figure for how many parents will see this reduction of €750 to €550. The Department should have the data on the number of parents who will benefit. Again, I am really concerned, if we are looking at this through core funding, how we are ever going to achieve €200 a month universally. There are lots of parents where their providers are outside of core funding. They are paying "sky's the limit" in terms of the amount per month. My last point in relation to the roadmap when we eventually see it, which will hopefully be before the end of the year as the Minister of State said, is that roadmap cannot just be about cost and affordability for parents. We are wasting our time if that does not come with building capacity, building places and the workforce. Some counties have a workforce turnover of up to 30%, 40% and almost 50%. We need to respect and recognise the educated workforce and professional workforce that are there and we need to pay them properly. That is not happening. The roadmap needs to do all three.

Too many parents are paying too much for childcare. For many parents and families, their childcare bill is additional pressure. The Government knows this, accepts this and wants to change this. That is why we have committed to reducing childcare fees to €200 per month over the lifetime of this Government. It is why the Minister, Deputy Foley, has tasked the Department with devising a roadmap that will be published in the coming weeks on how to achieve that. It is why childcare received such a huge investment in this year's budget. What that means for parents is a reduction in the fees that they pay. On top of this, the Government is also invested to ensure better access to childcare. That is why we are investing in both existing providers to help them expand so they can offer more places and why we are also supporting a new State-led facilities scheme. This year, €135 million was provided for what is a groundbreaking initiative to help acquire or fit out childcare as a State-led programme. So far, seven projects have been approved on that. We also have the building block extension grant scheme, which is in operation to provide existing childcare facilities the opportunity to build and expand places.