Childcare

The maximum payable per week will be lowered to €183.70 for a typical week of 45 hours.

A NEW MAXIMUM fee cap that will roll out in September will see families making more savings on childcare fees.

Making the announcement Wednesday, Children’s Minister Norma Foley said under the new maximum fee caps, the highest possible upfront cost for a typical full day place of 45 hours per week will drop from around €198 per week to €183.70 per week.

It’s a small step in the direction of reaching the government’s commitment of childcare at €200 per month per child by the end of its term.

Around 4,600 childcare providers are signed up to state subsidies known as core funding – which is around 93% of all eligible services.

Today’s package of €480 million for the next school year is a 23% increase on last year’s package of €390 million, and includes €45 million ringfenced for increases in staff wages.

Get to it – what are the new maximum weekly fees?

The core funding weekly fee caps are split into six bands, labelled A-F, dependent on the number of hours parents avail of the services of the providers.

The final fee is inclusive of the universal National Childcare Scheme, which is available to parents at a rate of €2.14 per hour for a maximum of 45 hours per week.

Some families will benefit from an additional income-based subsidy, which is means tested. This is not included in the below figures, but information on the subsidy is available here.

The fee caps from September will be as follows:

Department of Children Department of Children

If you’re having trouble reading the above, it essentially means the maximum rate payable by those in eligible providers is the final figure.

What are the government saying?

Foley and Junior Minister Emer Higgins announced the new bands, as well as the overall core funding for providers at Government Buildings today.

In theory, the state subsidy is provided to allow childcare providers to freeze their fees and still have the finances to meet their staffing and operational costs.

However, there have been complaints from some providers that as a result of availing of funding scheme, they do not have the revenue to offer staff competitive salaries.

This has led to staffing shortages at some providers.

Some staff members in the sector – defined as early years educators and School Age Childcare (SAC) practitioners - are being paid €15 an hour from the age of 20, which is 85c above minimum wage.

Lead educators (room leaders) and SAC coordinators are paid €16 an hour from the age of 20, which is €1.85 more than minimum wage.

The rate of pay climbs to €20.25 at the highest level of graduate centre manager.

Foley was today asked about the rates of pay, where she stated multiple times the state is not the employer of these workers, who work for private providers. Rather, the state is assisting parents by subsidising these providers, she said.

The core funding model is an entirely voluntarily scheme, she said. 

“I think the real issue in this sector is the fact that the vast majority of staff are on 85c more than the minimum wage, and the State isn’t the employer here,” Foley said.

“But the state recognises that staff need to be paid better,” she continued, saying this is why the government have ringfenced €45 million for increases to staff wages. She could not say how this will manifest in staff’s wages.

The ultimate hourly increase will be decided by negotiations at the Joint Labour Committee. Foley acknowledged that she had previously been frustrated by the pace at which the committee progressed its process, but she welcomes its deliberations now after agreement.

Foley said she hopes to do more in the budget to further lower the cost of childcare.

Speaking on his way into cabinet, Tánaiste Simon Harris said today is an important step forward in relation to childcare. 

He said the government will set out a road map over the coming months as to how to get from today’s announcement to €200 per month per child.

He said the next budget “is going to be a really important moment in terms of making progress”.