New €220m early learning childcare funding open to Waterford providers from July

Over €220 million in core funding for early learning and school-age childcare providers has been announced. 

The funding - launched yesterday (Tuesday June 28) by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O'Gorman - will enable the provision of quality affordable services for children and their families across Ireland. 

Services signing up to the scheme will be subject to a number of requirements, including ensuring no increase to 2022/2023 fees above September 2021 rates, issuing a statement to parents outlining what can be expected, implementing the national practice frameworks Aistear and Siolta, as well as providing transparent and validated financial reports. 

Minister O'Gorman said, "Core Funding represents a new approach to how the State funds the sector.

"It entails a shift in the relationship between how State and providers collectively work together, with new responsibilities on both sides, to progressively deliver the vision of increasingly publicly funded and publicly managed early learning and care and school-age childcare to the benefit of children and their families." 

The funding agreement for the Government's new €221m Core Funding for early learning and childcare services has been published.

This new funding approach marks the beginning of a new partnership, between the State & providers, working collectively for the public good.

— Roderic O’Gorman TD (@rodericogorman) June 28, 2022

Funding for individuals will be calculated based on the number of places on offer, age group and hours of operation with additional funding for qualified graduates in certain leadership roles.

Applications for the core funding will open in late July 2022. 

A Core Funding Ready Reckoner online tool is available in the meantime to give providers an estimate of what they can expect to receive under Core Funding.