CHILDREN’S MINISTER KATHERINE Zappone launched an information campaign this week to encourage parents to avail of childcare subsidies.
As part of the move, her department has a dedicated website (affordablechildcare.ie) for parents and providers to find out about the regime.
While some elements of the campaign have been criticised, by childcare providers especially, it’s been broadly welcomed for providing parties with “critical information”.
So here’s what parents need to know ahead of September.
Subsidies
There are a number of different subsidies available, and the minister used the launch to encourage parents to see which are applicable to them.
A non-means-tested subsidy of up to €80 per month will be made available to parents of children in registered childcare who are aged between six months and three years.
The exact value of this universal subsidy depends on the length of time the child spends in weekly childcare.
To avail of this, the child must be enrolled in a childcare service that is registered with Tusla. A list of those providers is broken down county-by-county on the Tusla website.
The subsidies are not provided as a payment to parents but are paid from the exchequer to the childcare provider with the parents benefitting from the reduced rate.
Applying for the subsidy is done through the childcare provider or through local childcare committees.
Other subsidies
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is also advising parents that subsidies of up to €145 per week are available to parents of children in childcare in a range of circumstances.
These subsidies relate to children up to 15 years-of-age and are provided through Community Childcare Subvention and Training and Employment Childcare schemes.
These include parents who hold a medical card, are in education or who are in receipt of a social welfare payment.
The maximum subvention is €145 per week but this will depend on how much childcare you use and what funding you are eligible for.
Criticism
Some of the most direct criticism of the universal subsidy has come from childcare providers who have said signing up for the subsidy will add to their workload.
“The original design of the Affordable Childcare Scheme, with a dedicated parental portal, was meant to limit, indeed reduce, the administrative burden for providers. ”This is not the case in reality,” Early Childhood Ireland said of the plans.
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