Funding Programmes
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) operates several schemes providing free or reduced-rate childcare to eligible families. Rules & Regulations: Please visit the Early Years Hive to access the latest rules and guidelines for all DCDE funding programmes.
national childcare scheme
NCS is the first ever statutory entitlement to financial support for childcare. It establishes an equitable and progressive system of universal and income-related subsidies for children up to the age of 15. It also provides an innovative and user-friendly online application process to access those subsidies.
Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE), conducts compliance visits with eachparticipating early years and school age childcare service who operates one or more of the National Childcare Programmes. PobalCompliance Checklists are available on HIVE.
We advise services to maintain a compliance folder/file which can be made readily available to the visiting officer on arrival. This will ensure minimum disruption and speed up the compliance visit. We understand that some services file their records in other ways, but records must be available to enable the visiting officer to complete the compliance visit in a reasonable timescale. There should always be a staff member on site with access to the compliance folder/records in the event of an unannounced visit.
Roscommon Childcare Committee Development Officers are available to support Early Years services and School Age services in relation to statutory regulations – Contact us on 094 962 2540
early childhood care and education (ECCE)
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme is a universal childcare programme with the stated objective of providing children with their first formal experience of early learning. The programme is delivered to children of pre-school age (2 years 8 months to 5 years 6 months) prior to commencing primary school.
community childcare subvention plus (CCSP)
The Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP) Saver Programme provides support for parents on a low income to avail of reduced childcare costs at participating privately owned childcare services and at community not-for-profit childcare services.
As of October 2019, the CCSP Saver Programme is closed to new applications.
national childcare scheme sponsor referral
The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) allows “Sponsor Bodies” to refer families with high levels of need for childcare support due to welfare, protection, or family support reasons. Referred families automatically qualify for a subsidy covering the full cost of the hours recommended by the sponsor, bypassing standard income or eligibility requirements with no parental co-payment required.
Parent Support Centre – Phone (01) 906 8530
Monday to Friday – 9.00am to 5.00pm
Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC) – Phone (01) 5117222
email – eypc@pobal.ie
Monday to Friday – 9.00am to 5.00pm
Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC) – Phone (01) 5117222
email – eypc@pobal.ie
core funding
Core Funding is a direct supply-side grant for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) providers. It is designed to support operating costs while achieving four key pillars:
- Affordability: Ensuring fees do not increase for parents through fee management and caps.
- Quality: Improving staff pay, conditions, and supporting the employment of graduate-level educators and managers.
- Sustainability: Providing a stable, predictable income for providers based on their staffed capacity rather than attendance.
- Inclusion: Supporting the sector to remain accessible to all children, regardless of background or needs.
To participate as a Partner Service, providers must sign a funding agreement and agree to transparent financial reporting and fee freezes.
More Information on Core Fuding is available on the Early Years Hive
the early years hive
The Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC), established by Pobal, is the primary support hub for childcare providers. It offers expert guidance on all DCDE-funded programmes, including the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) and Core Funding.
Contact Information
- Phone: 01 511 7222
- Email: EYPC@pobal.ie
- Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm (Note: Lines open at 10:00am on Wednesdays due to staff training).
For the fastest resolution, providers are encouraged to submit a ‘Request’ directly through the Early Years Hive portal.
