Dear Service Provider,
To support your planning for the 2026/2027 programme year, please review the information below on preliminary payments, payment schedules and key dates for the CCSP Saver Programme and ECCE.
The table shows:
- The dates of the first preliminary payments for the CCSP Saver Programme and ECCE for the 2026/2027 programme call.
- The dates the funding agreements must have been activated by the following dates, to be included in the first preliminary payment.
| Programme | Funding Agreement activation date | Preliminary Payment |
| CCSP | 4 August 2026 | 7 August 2026 |
| ECCE | 14 August 2026 | 21 August 2026 |
If you activate your funding agreement after these dates, you can still receive a preliminary payment. It will be included in a later payment run.
CCSP Saver Programme Payments
- Preliminary payments for CCSP 2026 will be made on 7 and 14 August.
- Payments from 21 August onwards will be based on approved registrations for the CCSP programme year 2026.
- Over-payments in CCSP 2025 will be deducted from preliminary payments.
- To qualify for the CCSP 2026 preliminary payment, a service must have 6 or more approved CCSP 2025 registrations, with attendance on or after 1 July 2026. Payment will be based on approved registration values between 1 June and 12 June (i.e. the payment is for 2 weeks).
CCSP 2026 will commence on Monday 10 August 2026. Registrations for CCSP 2026 open on Monday 3 August 2026.
Please make sure your service calendar is correct and up to date before the programme starts. Once the programme year begins, service calendars cannot be retrospectively amended on the Early Years Hive.
ECCE payments
- Preliminary payments for ECCE 2026 will be made on 21 August, 28 August, and 4 September.
- No preliminary payments will be made the week ending 11 September.
- Over-payments in ECCE 2025 will be deducted from preliminary payments.
- Payments based on approved registrations will commence in week ending 18 September 2026.
- AIM Level 1 allocations will be included in the ECCE payment on 18 September 2026 onward.
- The ECCE 2026 preliminary payment will be based on approved ECCE 2025 registrations (FTE) in the sample week beginning 01 December 2025 (the payment is for 4 weeks at this rate).
ECCE 2026 will commence on Monday 24 August 2026. Registrations for ECCE 2026 opened on Monday 6 July 2026.
Please ensure that your service calendar is up to date and correct in advance of the programme call start dates. Service calendars cannot be retrospectively amended on the Early Years Hive.
Preliminary payment details
Services will not receive more than one preliminary payment.
Payments will be made to the existing bank account associated with the service/programme on the Early Years Hive.
Back-dating registrations
The latest date a service can register a child for ECCE is 6 weeks after the child’s start date.
The latest date a service can register a child for the CCSP Saver Programme is 4 weeks after the date the service opens for the new programme year.
In the case of late registrations, all proofs of children’s start dates and attendance must be submitted to Pobal, or the registration may be declined.
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) reserves the right not to backdate funding on any late registrations
Payment schedules
Payment schedules for the CCSP Saver Programme 2026 and ECCE 2026 are available in the Programme Documents section of the Early Years Hive.
Where the preliminary payment already made is more than the amount due to you, based on your approved registrations, subsequent payments will be adjusted for reconciliation purposes.
Regards,
The Early Years Team
