EARLY CHILDCARE SUPPLEMENT:CHILDREN OVER the age of five years will no longer be eligible for the Early Childcare Supplement.
Moreover, the value of the supplement is also being cut by almost €10 a month under the Government’s new plan to reduce costs.
Announcing the change yesterday Taoiseach Brian Cowen said €75 million would be saved through a reduction in the supplement from €1,100 to €1,000 per year and by restricting the payment to children under five.
Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews said the changes would actually save even more than Mr Cowen had indicated. He said they would save €77 million in a full year. Mr Andrews’s spokeswoman said the measures would save €51 million this year and €77 million in a full year.
Furthermore, Mr Andrews’s statement noted the supplement payment was actually being reduced from €1,104 to €996 per annum for each qualifying child. This means the monthly payment in respect of qualifying children will be reduced from €92 to €83.
Mr Andrews’s spokeswoman explained that the discrepancies in the figures given by the Taoiseach and the Minister arose as a result of figures being rounded off in Mr Cowen’s statement.
The change announced are due to come into effect on May 1st.
The supplement is a universal non-means-tested benefit introduced in budget 2006 for children under six. In last October’s Budget the age threshold for the payment was reduced from children under six years to children under 5½ years of age. That threshold was reduced again yesterday.
Mr Andrews said the immediate need to cut public expenditure had resulted in the need to make difficult decisions and in this context, it had proven necessary to taper the amount of supplement paid and the duration for which it was paid.
“These changes represent the most equitable approach to delivering the requisite savings,” he said.
“The Government was, and is, determined to maintain a direct payment to contribute to the cost of childcare . . . although, the changes to the scheme will result in a reduction of the total amount paid to parents of children under five years, the integrity of the Early Childcare Supplement has been maintained and will continue to provide a welcome support to parents in these difficult economic times,” Mr Andrews added.
Reacting to the changes Irene Gunning, chief executive of Irish Pre-school Play Association, said there had been a lot of speculation that the supplement would be cut and to some extent people were expecting the reduction to be even more drastic.
She said the payment was for the preschool child and there was now a concern that parents of some children who really needed and would benefit from preschooling would not be able to afford it.
She added that a survey of her members in relation to how the downturn was affecting them had already found mothers were no longer taking unpaid maternity leave as they couldn’t afford it. Moreover, some mothers were cutting the hours their children were in childcare because their own working hours had been cut.