Budget 2017 announced a radical redesign of how we deliver support to make quality childcare accessible and affordable for families in Ireland. The Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS) will provide financial support for parents towards the cost of childcare.  It will provide a system from which both universal and targeted subsidies can be provided towards the cost of childcare.

This new Scheme will replace the existing targeted childcare programmes with a single, streamlined and more user-friendly scheme and will include “wraparound‟ care for pre-school and school-age children. The ambition of this project is immense; its scope matched only in size by its complexity. Once launched, this scheme will:

  • improve outcomes for children,
  • reduce poverty,
  • facilitate labour activation and,
  • tangibly reduce the cost of childcare for tens of thousands of families.

This page will keep you up to date on progress as we develop the legal and technical infrastructure underpinning our radical new approach to accessible, affordable quality childcare.

For further information on the Affordable Childcare Scheme Childcare Support Bill, please click on the Frequently Asked Questions LINK

If you have any queries, please contact affordable_childcare@dcya.gov.ie

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