Good news, mums: from September, parents of children under three years will get a little bit more help from the Government.
New childcare subsidies will be introduced under a new Government childcare scheme. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, launched a new website to educate parents about subsidies available to them.
According to the More Affordable Childcare Scheme, parents of kids under three will get €80 in subsidies per month.
Addressing reporters outside of the Dáil, Minister Katherine Zappone said it was a 'good day' for parents and families.
Highest levels of new childcare supports will go to families on the lowest incomes”…Minister Katherine Zappone T.D.,https://t.co/uQjcs2qv2s pic.twitter.com/EPoBWj0ble
— WexfordCCC (@WxCoChildcare) May 30, 2017
"For decades, several governments of all political persuasions have struggled to come up with an equitable way to make childcare more affordable."
For parents living in disadvantaged areas, there will also be good news from September. The government will introduce increases of up to 50 per cent in subsidies provided by the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programmes. CCS helps parents in education or in low-paid employment to avail of child care at low rates, for children over six months old and up to 15 years old.
There will be four eligible bands under this scheme, and subsidies will range from €50-€145 per week. For children under six months old, some parents can qualify for means-tested benefits of up to €145 a week, which was previously set at €95.
An extra €19 million was provided in Budget 2017 for the additional investment in childcare, which is expected to benefit up to 70,000 children and their families.
Ms Zappone said she believed the scheme would help mums and dads who want to return to work. She said she wanted to do more to address issues raised by childcare providers as well.
“The primary issue the childcare providers are raising with me have to do with their pay as well as their working conditions...What I want to do is increase the amounts of money to be provided to crèches and early education and care centres, so that they can pay a little bit more for the non-contact time they have with children,” she said.
This is excellent news for parents, who have struggled with the soaring cost of childcare for years.
The Department acknowledged the struggle with affordable childcare that Irish parents have had to deal with: "Parents have been paying all of it out of their own pockets up to when the free pre-school year kicked in.
“The free pre-school year is not about subsidising childcare, it does help, it’s more about preparation for setting out for school. Up to now, there hasn’t been a universal support available for the under-threes,” said a spokesman for the Department.
