New childcare price cap could save families hundreds of euro per year

The childcare fee cap will be implemented in September 2026.

Childcare fees will now officially be capped at €183.70 per week for 45 hours of care. This amount translates to full time care between 8am and 5pm from Monday to Friday. This is a significant drop from the previous maximum amount of €198 per week.

Parents availing of over 50 hours a week of childcare will pay a maximum of €239.70 under the revised plan.

The Minister said that between 45 and 50 hours is the “most common” amount of childcare that parents require weekly.

The Minister for Children has confirmed that this will come into effect from September of this year. Services charging the most expensive fees to parents will be targeted first, and this could possibly save some families hundreds of euros a year as a result.

“For the first time, throughout the month of September, providers are being asked to return what their fees are, what parents are being asked to pay, and what ultimately they have to pay on the basis of what they receive from the national child care subsidy,” she added.

“We will have very clear data across the entire country as regards what services parents are availing of. The real challenge is that some parents are availing services that are open 30 hours, 40 hours, some of them are half-day, some of them are full day, it’s quite a complicated process.”

“So, for the first time in the month of September, we have the absolute detail of what it involves for parents and what they’re ultimately paying.”

Approximately 12% of childcare services will be required to reduce at least one fee when the cap is put in place.

This year, the Irish Government plans to spend over €480 million in core funding for childcare services. This is the highest amount ever put into the Core Funding scheme, and almost €50 million of it will go towards improved pay for those working with young children.