On this page you’ll find information on the ECCE scheme and the National Childcare Scheme which is offered to support parents of young children.
Depending on your child’s date of birth you will need to register your child for the following subsidy schemes
ECCE Preschool Scheme
If your child was born between 1st Jan 2022 and 31 December 2023, your child will qualify for the ECCE preschool scheme for September 2026. This scheme provides a free two-year preschool programme. In order to register children for the scheme, we will require your child’s full name, pps number and date of birth.
National Childcare Scheme (NCS)
How to apply:
The easiest and fastest way to apply is online at https://ncs.gov.ie/en/
You will need:
If you or your partner don’t already have a Public Services Card you will need to apply by post. To do so, please contact the Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. These applications will take longer to process and may affect the start date of the subsidy payment.
When your application has been approved, you will receive an NCS award for each child, containing their unique CHICK key (Childcare Identifier Code Key) and details of rate & number of eligible hours. You will need to share this with us so that we can register your child on the NCS portal (called HIVE) and enter the number of hours that your child attends.
After you receive your CHICK key please send this CHICK code to the Playgroup Manager.
After the Manager registers your child and the hours, you will receive a notification from the government’s HIVE registration system asking you to confirm that the details entered are correct. Once you send your confirmation, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will pay the subsidy to us on your behalf, and we will, in turn, subtract this amount from your fee. If you do not validate our registration on the HIVE Portal we cannot deduct the subsidy from your fees.
Depending on your child’s date of birth you will need to register your child for the following subsidy schemes
ECCE Preschool Scheme
If your child was born between 1st Jan 2022 and 31 December 2023, your child will qualify for the ECCE preschool scheme for September 2026. This scheme provides a free two-year preschool programme. In order to register children for the scheme, we will require your child’s full name, pps number and date of birth.
National Childcare Scheme (NCS)
How to apply:
The easiest and fastest way to apply is online at https://ncs.gov.ie/en/
You will need:
- A verified MyGovID account*
- Your children’s information such as date of birth and PPSN
- Your/your par employment and income related details for income assessed subsidy if the household net income is under €60,000. Otherwise you should apply for the Universal subsidy
- Your partner’s PPSN, employment and income related details (if you are a member of a couple)
If you or your partner don’t already have a Public Services Card you will need to apply by post. To do so, please contact the Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. These applications will take longer to process and may affect the start date of the subsidy payment.
When your application has been approved, you will receive an NCS award for each child, containing their unique CHICK key (Childcare Identifier Code Key) and details of rate & number of eligible hours. You will need to share this with us so that we can register your child on the NCS portal (called HIVE) and enter the number of hours that your child attends.
After you receive your CHICK key please send this CHICK code to the Playgroup Manager.
After the Manager registers your child and the hours, you will receive a notification from the government’s HIVE registration system asking you to confirm that the details entered are correct. Once you send your confirmation, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will pay the subsidy to us on your behalf, and we will, in turn, subtract this amount from your fee. If you do not validate our registration on the HIVE Portal we cannot deduct the subsidy from your fees.
