National Childcare Scheme (NCS) Parent Support Centre Now Open

• The National Childcare Scheme – Parent Support Centre is available to assist parents or guardians with any queries regarding the new National Childcare Scheme.
• The Parent Support Centre will provide information and guidance to parents who may wish to apply for the National Childcare Scheme or who have a query about an existing application.

Monday 8th July 2019:

Last week, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone T.D., announced the opening of a dedicated support centre to assist parents and guardians who wish to apply for the new National Childcare Scheme (NCS). Pobal will oversee the management of the NCS Parent Support Centre on behalf of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA).

Pobal was officially appointed as scheme administrator for the new National Childcare Scheme (NCS), under section 3 of the Childcare Support Act 2018, in April 2019. Pobal will be responsible for managing the NCS Parent Support Centre, processing applications, making payments, maintaining and supporting the ICT system, as well as facilitating reviews and independent appeals.

The National Childcare Scheme – Parent Support Centre is open Monday to Friday from 9:00am – 5:00pm and parents can contact the centre by calling (01) 906 8530.

The National Childcare Scheme is a national scheme of financial support for parents towards the cost of quality childcare. Once launched, it will replace the existing targeted childcare subsidy schemes with a single, streamlined and more user-friendly scheme. Following the launch of the Scheme in October 2019, parents will be able to apply online directly to the National Childcare Scheme for financial support towards the cost of childcare.

Speaking about the opening of the National Childcare Scheme – Parent Support Centre, Jerry Murphy, Pobal, Acting CEO said:

“The new Parent Support Centre provides support to parents and guardians who may have queries about the National Childcare Scheme and how to apply for the relevant subsidies. The Parent Support Centre can provide information and guidance to parents who wish to apply for the National Childcare Scheme and following the launch of the Scheme will facilitate queries regarding applications.

In addition to providing assistance and support to parents, children and families, Pobal will also work directly with childcare services providers and the early learning and care, and school age childcare sector, through training and knowledge transfer processes.”

NCS is the first ever statutory entitlement to financial support for childcare in Ireland. Through this entitlement, the National Childcare Scheme aims to improve outcomes for children, support lifelong learning, reduce child poverty and tangibly reduce the cost of quality childcare for thousands of families across Ireland. To ensure continuity of service for both parents and Early Learning and Care Service Providers, the existing childcare support programmes will continue to operate until the launch of the National Childcare Scheme and for the 2019/2020 programme year. Children registered on these schemes will be able to remain on them for the duration of the academic year, under the NCS ‘Saver’ arrangements.

Further information for parents and childcare service providers is available on the Scheme’s dedicated website: https://ncs.gov.ie/

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