As we near the announcement of Budget 2018, reports of a major change to the Government’s childcare policy has been predicted.

 

According to the Irish Examiner, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone has secured a package that will extend support for the pre-school year.

 

Under these new guidelines, the free pre-school year is predicted to be available to all families, regardless of the birth date of the child. This will provide free childcare for some 20,000 extra children, nationwide.

 

 

Currently, the free pre-school year is only available for certain families sending their child to crèche; this is because qualification for the support depends on the date upon which the child was born.

 

The predicted measure will be made possible thanks to a reported extra investment of €30 million in childcare under the new Budget.

 

The full Budget is set to be announced at lunchtime today, by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.

 

 

Other measures predicted to be announced include a reduction in class numbers (to a maximum of 26 per class), as well as an increase in qualified child payments (bringing the figure up to €32.30).

 

Stay tuned to MummyPages for a breakdown of the full Budget 2018, this afternoon.

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