Department of Children and Youth Affairs Childcare Funding Programmes

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) operates six government programmes; ECCE, CCS, CCSP, CCSR, CCSR(T) and TEC.  Below is a short summary of each, for further detail click on the relevant subtabs.

1. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): This programme is a universal childcare programme otherwise known as ‘free pre-school’;
2. Community Childcare Subvention (CCS): This programme provides childcare funding support targeting low income families in community childcare services;
3. Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP): This programme provides childcare funding support targeting low income families in private childcare services and community childcare services who have children registered after the snapshot period and for those children aged between 6 months and 3 years under universal childcare subvention funding;
   o Universal Subsidy (CCSU): As part of its plan to make childcare more affordable, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs introduced a universal subvention payment from September 2017, the payment of which is facilitated through the CCSP childcare programme.
4. Community Childcare Subvention Resettlement (CSSR): This programme provides childcare support to Programme Refugees to support their resettlement and integration
   into Irish society;
5. Community Childcare Subvention Resettlement (Transitional) (CSSR(T)): As part of the “Rebuilding Ireland – an Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness” the DCYA has provided access to free childcare for children of families experiencing homelessness; and
6. Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) Programmes: These programmes provide childcare funding support for parents participating in eligible ETB/Solas vocational training courses, Community Employment (CE) programmes or returning to
   employment.

For more information on these programmes, please click here. Rules For DCYA Childcare Funding Programmes