Dear Service Provider,
NCS income assessed applicants will today receive notification that their award has now been recalculated using the new Multi Child Discount (MCD) rates and NCS Thresholds.
The increase, which was introduced by Minister Norma Foley as part of Budget 2026 measures, means that families who did not previously qualify for an income assessed award may be eligible going forward.
What does this mean for applicants?
If an applicant is availing of an income assessed award, their award has now been recalculated using the new MCD rates and NCS Thresholds. No action is required of an income assessed applicant. They do not need to submit a new application, nor should they cancel their current application as this will end subsidy payments to you.
Important: It should be noted that where rates change, the parents’ co-payment must be updated, and the parent informed.
What does this mean for providers?
All income assessed claims have now been automatically updated with the new rate. There will be no need for parents to confirm these claims again, however, if parents have not yet confirmed their claims, they will still be required to do so. In addition, service providers can identify all affected claims in a specially dedicated page on the Early Years Hive.
Support
If you need further support, please raise a Service Request on the Early Years Hive using the following dropdown options:
- Request program type: NCS
- Request type: Registrations
- Request type detail: Claim
Parents seeking support in this regard should be advised to contact the NCS Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm, or to visit www.ncs.gov.ie.
Regards,
The Early Years Team
