Creche Fees to be Slashed in New Childcare Subsidy Plan

Huge boost for Irish families as creche fees slashed in new childcare subsidy plan & max €200 per month Foley goal

The first phase of the plan will include increasing income limits for the National Childcare Scheme in order to enable more families to get access to subsidies

TENS of thousands of families are set to qualify for subsidies to lower the cost of their creche fees in a new action plan set to be announced by the Government next week.

The move has been touted as the Government’s first step in moving towards a €200 per child per month maximum cost for childcare which was promised by all parties in last year’s election.

Children’s Minister Norma Foley is due to bring a new Early Years Action Plan to Cabinet next week in a bid to lower the cost of childcare for families.

The first phase of the action plan will include increasing the income limits for the National Childcare Scheme in order to enable more families to get access to these subsidies.

There are two streams to the National Childcare Scheme which sees the Government help pay for creche fees or childcare costs which can amount to over €1,000 a month per child.

A universal subsidy of €2.14 per hour is available to all families regardless of their income.

However, families on lower incomes can qualify for bigger subsidies depending on how much they earn.

Parents earning less than €26,000 qualify for a full subsidy with graduated levels of subsidies for families with combined incomes up to €60,000.

Minister Foley plans to raise these income thresholds so that more families qualify for stronger subsidies. This is the first time these income limits have been changed since 2019.

The details of the new income limits will be announced next week and will kick in from September 2026 which will see tens of thousands of families’ childcare bills reduced.

Source: https://www.thesun.ie/news/16235055/irish-families-creche-fees-slashed-childcare-plan-foley/