Fee Increase Assessment Process

Fee management was introduced with the substantial investment of Core Funding following the recommendations of the Expert Group, in the Partnership for Public Good report. The first step of this process, which was approved by Government, was to limit increases in fee rates. This started in September 2022 with the effective fee freeze, which allowed the full increase to the NCS universal subsidy in 2023 to translate fully into a reduction in out-of-pocket costs for families.

As part of the progressive development of the fee management system under Core Funding, the Department introduced new developments to fee management in year 3 of Core Funding.

The Fee Increase Assessment process opened on the 1 August 2024 and closed for applications on 29 November 2024.

Applicant guidelines for the process are available here.

The Fee Increase Assessment process and the introduction of a fee cap are the first steps to further advance this system of fee management in line with the recommendations outlined in Partnership for Public Good.

Prior to the third programme year (September 2024 – August 2025), services availing of Core Funding have not been allowed to raise their fees above what was charged to parents on 30 September 2021 (or at the point of first signing up for Core Funding if the service did not exist on 30 September 2021).

The fee freeze will remain in place for the majority of these services for year 3 of Core Funding, however, services whose fees have been frozen at a level that may not be sufficient to sustain their business, even with the increased funding available through Core Funding, had the opportunity to apply for a Fee Increase Assessment.

The Fee Increase Assessment process must balance the need of parents for stability with their early learning and childcare costs and the need for providers to operate viable businesses in order to continue providing this Public Good service for their community.

The onus is on the service to demonstrate a real need for a fee increase. Permission to increase fees in this controlled and limited manner is only granted where a service has proven that such an increase is needed to be able to continue to offer these services.

The Department will also issue a letter to Partner Service who have been approved for a fee increase. The letter will include the new maximum fee which can be charged by the service and the date this is effective from. The service cannot request parents to pay this increased fee prior to the date shown on the letter.

The service must show this letter to parents/guardians before any fee increase takes place. A Partner Service will have to update the Partner Service Parent Statement. This must be circulated to parents within 10 working days of the sanctioned detailed fee increases being provided to parents.