Childcare Funding Programmes

The National Childcare Scheme provides subsidies to help parents meet the cost of quality Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare. It has replaced all previous targeted childcare support programmes with a single, streamlined and user friendly Scheme.

Under the National Childcare Scheme, subsidies are available for families with children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years who are attending any participating Tusla registered childcare services, including any Tusla registered childminder and school age childcare services.

There are two types of subsidies available under the National Childcare Scheme: a Universal subsidy and an Income Assessed subsidy.

• Universal subsidies are available to all families with children under 3 years, or families with children over 3 years who have not yet qualified for the free preschool (ECCE) programme. It is not means tested and provides 50 cents per hour for up to 45 hours per week off the cost of a Tusla registered childcare place.
• Income Assessed subsidies are available to families with children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years. They are means tested and will be calculated based on your individual circumstances. The subsidy rate will vary depending on your level of reckonable family income, your child’s age and their educational stage. It can be used towards the cost of a Tusla registered childcare place for up to a maximum of 45 hours per week.  To apply for an Income Assessed subsidy, your reckonable family income has to be less than €60,000 per year. You can find out more information on this here.

There is National Childcare Scheme Parent Call Centre. Parents can call 01 906 8530 for information or any queries they have on the National Childcare Scheme. Open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme is a universal support available to all families with children in the eligible age range, regardless of your family income. This is sometimes known as the free preschool years.

This programme allows your child to attend a registered preschool session for 3 hours per day, 5 days a week, for 38 weeks per year.

This is free at the point of service for parents. If your child attends a setting for part-time or full-time childcare then the subsidy of €64.50 will be discounted from your existing childcare bill per week.

To read more about the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme just click the button below:

Targeted supports were available for certain families where parents may be engaged in training, study or employment programmes.

Community Childcare Subvention (CCS/CCSP) is available to families who hold a medical card or GP card, and/or those in receipt of certain payments from the department of social protection.

The TEC (Training and Employment Childcare) programmes reduce the cost of childcare for families who may be attending recognised training or study courses, on a community employment scheme, or returning to the workforce.

No new child registrations were allowed on the CCSP scheme after Friday 15^th November 2019 and the TEC programme closed to new registrations on February 14th 2020. The children who were registered for CCSP in the 2019/20 programme year, were in attendance and retained registrations under the CCSP Saver Programme. The TEC Saver Programme will continue for an interim period or until the parent is no longer eligible.

To read more about the Legacy Targeted Childcare Supports just click the button below:

If you would like some advice or to speak about your eligibility for childcare funding programmes you can always contact us by phone on 056-7752865.