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National Childcare Scheme, school and college in Ireland – what your child gets and what you pay

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Ireland pays part of every crèche bill through the National Childcare Scheme, State schools are free, and the childcare fee cap fell again in September 2026. Here is how the pieces fit together for a family that has just arrived, from the first childminder to the college application.

Teacher sitting on the floor reading a story to a group of young pupils
Photo: Monkey Business/Adobe Stock

Three things changed for families around the time you arrived. Since 31 August 2026 more households qualify for the income-assessed National Childcare Scheme (NCS) subsidy, as the income thresholds rose to €34,000 and €68,000. From September 2026 the maximum weekly fee for a full-day place in a State-funded childcare service is €280. And since September 2025 free schoolbooks cover every year of secondary school. Pre-school is optional, school is compulsory from 6 to 16, and third level is where nationality and residence decide what you pay.

How does the National Childcare Scheme work in 2026?

The NCS is paid straight to a childcare provider registered with Tusla, the child and family agency, with an NCS contract, for children from 24 weeks to under 15. Every family can claim the universal subsidy of €2.14 an hour for up to 45 hours a week. Families with reckonable income under €68,000 get an income-assessed subsidy of up to €5.10 an hour, at the maximum rate if income is €34,000 or less; those thresholds were raised on 31 August 2026 from €26,000 and €60,000.

Reckonable income is net family income after tax, PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) and USC (Universal Social Charge), less €5,500 with 2 children under 15 or €11,000 with 3 or more. You get up to 45 subsidised hours a week if you and your partner work, study or train, otherwise up to 20; pre-school and school hours are not deducted. You need a legal right to live here and apply online with a verified MyGovID and your children's PPS numbers (Personal Public Service numbers – part 3); the Parent Support Centre is on (01) 906 8530.

NCS subsidy 2026–27WhoRate
UniversalAny income€2.14 an hour, up to 45 hours a week
Income-assessedReckonable income under €68,000Up to €5.10 an hour; maximum rate at €34,000 or less
Multiple child discount2 children under 15 / 3 or more€5,500 / €11,000 off reckonable income
Subsidised hoursParents working, studying or training / otherwiseUp to 45 / 20 a week

Source: Citizens Information, read 24 September 2026.

Fees are capped at the more than 93 per cent of eligible services that take Core Funding – State money in return for a fee freeze in place since 2022. For a typical 45-hour full-day place the most you pay after the universal subsidy is €183.70 a week, down from about €198.

Hours a weekMaximum weekly fee from September 2026
Under 10€56
10 to 19€112
20 to 29€168
30 to 39€224
40 to 49€280
50 or more€336

Source: Department of Children, Disability and Equality, read 24 September 2026.

Free pre-school: the ECCE scheme

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme gives two years of free pre-school; your City or County Childcare Committee helps you find a place. A provider must offer 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, 38 weeks a year, and those 15 hours are paid by the State. Your child must have turned 2 years and 8 months by 31 August and be no older than 5 years and 6 months on 30 June of the programme year; you apply with the child's birth certificate or passport and PPS number.

Primary and secondary school in Ireland – how the system works

The school year starts in the week of 1 September, and most children start primary school at 4 or 5. It lasts 8 years – junior infants, senior infants, then first to sixth class – with a day of 5 hours 40 minutes, an hour shorter for infants and first class. Irish is a core subject; a child schooled abroad for three years or more can be exempted (part 11). Post-primary starts at 12 or 13, and your child must be at least 12 on 1 January of the year of entry: a 3-year Junior Cycle, an optional Transition Year and a 2-year Senior Cycle ending in the Leaving Certificate.

In 2025 more than 88 per cent of primary schools had Catholic patronage and 5.5 per cent a non-religious one; you can opt your child out of religious instruction. Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí teach through Irish and may prioritise children who already speak it. Most post-primary schools are free.

How do I get a school place for a newly arrived child?

Applications for the following September open on 1 October of the previous year, so in October 2026 you apply for September 2027; each school publishes an admissions policy and an annual admission notice, and you can apply to several schools but accept one place. Publicly funded schools cannot charge for admission and must accept every applicant unless oversubscribed; they may not select on pre-school attendance, ability, parents' occupation, interviews or when you applied.

Arriving mid-year, approach any local school directly; if nobody has a place, contact your Regional Education and Language Team (REALT), one of 16 hosted by the Education and Training Boards. If a school refuses your child, ask its board of management for a review, then appeal to the Department of Education and Youth within 63 days of the refusal.

A child without English is assessed by the class teacher with the NCCA assessment kit within a few weeks and helped by the school's Special Education Teacher and, in some schools, language support teachers; schools get extra teaching hours for pupils who first arrived after August 2024.

What school costs – and what the State pays

ItemWhat applies in 2026–27
Tuition in State-funded schoolsFree
SchoolbooksFree in primary; free textbooks in post-primary, Senior Cycle included since September 2025; a €50 refundable deposit may be asked
School transportFrom 3.2 km to the nearest primary school (4.8 km for post-primary): €100 a child, at most €200 a family, free with a medical card
Hot school mealsAll primary schools eligible since 2025 – ask yours
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance€160 a child aged 2–11, €285 aged 12–22; weekly income limit €726.70 with 1 child to €960.70 with 4; closes 30 September 2026
Child Benefit€140 a month for each child, no means test (part 9)

Source: Citizens Information, read 24 September 2026.

Universities and fees: who pays what

Under the Free Fees Initiative the State pays undergraduate tuition for a first full-time course of at least 2 years if you have lived in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK for 3 of the 5 years before starting and are an EEA, Swiss or UK citizen, a refugee, an EU national's family member on Stamp 4EUFAM or hold certain other permissions. A student contribution of up to €2,500 (2025–26) remains, with tax relief. SUSI, the grant authority, means-tests 2025 gross family income for 2026–27: with fewer than 4 children, a full maintenance grant below €47,010, partial grants up to €58,470, and €500 towards the contribution up to €120,000.

Non-EU students outside those rules pay the full tuition set by each institution and get no maintenance grant; a temporary permission such as an employment permit or study visa does not qualify. Non-EEA students need a course on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes, access to €10,000 and a Stamp 2 permission (part 2). EU and EEA applicants apply through the CAO by 1 February, late until 1 May; proof of English such as TOEFL is generally required.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Get a PPS number for each child – needed for ECCE, the NCS and school (part 3)In your first weeks
2Apply for the NCS online with a verified MyGovIDOnce you have a childcare place
3Check the ECCE age rule and ask the Childcare Committee for providersBefore 31 August
4Apply to several schools; mid-year, contact REALTFrom 1 October for the following September
5Claim the Back to School allowance if your income qualifiesBy 30 September 2026
6Students: apply through the CAO and to SUSICAO by 1 February, late until 1 May

Source: Citizens Information, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.