Childcare top-up for families in Budget ’18

AN ADDITIONAL childcare top-up for families on low to middle incomes is planned for October’s Budget.

Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone is demanding an increase in the new childcare subsidy. Parents are entitled to a payment worth €80 per month for each child aged between six months and three years who attends a registered childcare provider.

Ms Zappone wants to focus on increasing targeted payments for families with incomes up to €47,000. Fine Gael wants to hike the universal payment.

CHILDREN’S Minister Katherine Zappone is demanding an increase in the new childcare subsidy for parents from Budget 2018.

The minister has sought money to increase the new childcare subsidy which launched this week, as well as extra funding for social workers.

Parents are entitled to a subsidy worth €80 per month for each child aged between six months and three years who attends a registered childcare provider. Fine Gael is understood to favour increasing this universal payment by €15-€20 a month, but Ms Zappone is more focused on increasing targeted payments for families with incomes up to €47,000.

It is understood she has formally asked the Department of Finance for a total budget of €1.6bn next year, up from €1.3bn in 2017.

However, Ms Zappone could be on a collision course with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe as the amount being sought is equal to the total funds available for new spending and tax cuts next year.

The Irish Independent understands the two ministers met in recent weeks to set out their starting positions for the negotiations.

“Either childcare is a priority or it’s not. The Department of Children will not be low in the pecking order when it comes to budget talks,” a source said.

Mr Donohoe is already coming under pressure to increase the old-age pension by €5, at a cost of €148m.

And Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has promised to “find some space to have a tax package to reduce taxes on middle Ireland”.

However, Ms Zappone is understood to have argued Ireland has one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world as a result of years of under-investment.

She will tell colleagues that in order to have “accessible, affordable, quality childcare” then consistent increases to funding will have to be made annually.

“The minister is ready for tough negotiations,” a source said.

The Affordable Childcare Scheme, which was a centre- piece of last year’s budget, began accepting applications yesterday – with almost 200 forms returned per hour. Up to 70,000 children will benefit in the coming months.

Speaking in Canada yesterday, Mr Varadkar said the Government will have to decide on budget priorities.

“It is not possible in any one budget to do everything you would like to do, or even everything you should do, because the more important thing we have to do is balance the books, and it is our intention to balance the books next year and reduce the debt, and while that might not be politically popular in the short term, it’s absolutely the right thing to do in the longer term for our country.

“The budget is not yet decided and we will, of course, have to prioritise,” Mr Varadkar said.

Currently Ms Zappone’s department spends €466m on ‘Early Years’ investment but wants “something north of €600m”.

“That seems like a significant increase but we need to get to €1.2bn if Ireland is to reach the OECD average,” a source said.

Among the proposals submitted by Ms Zappone is a funding request to increase capital grants for providers. She also asked for an extra €5m to support youth organisations such as the scouts and Foróige. She received a similar increase last year but argues that this “just reversed cuts from previous years”. Her budget application adds that her department is striving to make Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, a truly independent body.