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Childcare core funding

Introduction

In September 2022 the Government, following recommendations in an Expert Group Report launched a new funding scheme for early learning and childcare: Core Funding.

Core Funding is an opt-in grant scheme provided directly to Early Learning and Childcare service providers. It contributes to their operating costs and aims to:

Improve affordability for families.
Enhance quality in services.
Provide support for providers.

The scheme is administered by the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality and applications are made by the service providers via a dedicated website to obtain a core funding partner service agreement. Under the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement, all service providers who had an active Core Funding contract during the programme year must submitFinancial Returns (currently Trial Balance at site level) The financial returns must be submitted by a professional accountant.

Further information on the financial returns process and the role of the professional accountant can be accessed below.

Background

About the scheme

The Government funding scheme launched in 2022 for early learning and childcare is called: Core Funding.

Core funding is an opt-in grant scheme provided directly to Early Learning and Childcare service providers by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (the Department).
Core funding assists with operating costs and is designed to improve affordability for families, quality in services and sustainability for providers.
Applications are made via the Early Years Hive website and associated financial returns must be submitted by a professional accountant.¹
The scheme has certain conditions that must be met by providers including fee restrictions and fee freezes.

Core Funding is administered by the Department.

Who can avail of the grant

Community and privately owned early learning and childcare services (including certain childminders) who offer full-time, part-time or sessional childcare and who are registered with Tusla can apply for the scheme. Providers are a mix of large chains or small community-based organisations and childminders.

Submitting Financial returns

Financial returns must be submitted via the Core Funding Contractual Requirements Reporting System (CFCRRS) portal (Accountant area) which can be accessed on https://www.cfcrrs.ie/

Early Years Hive, the dedicated core funding website, includes detailed instructions and guidance, including guidance videos on the financial returns process and how to submit the financial returns in the portal (in the ‘Core Funding Financial Reporting Requirements Year 3 (2024/2025) Trial Balance’ section of the website). There is also a FAQ document for accountants, chart of accounts details, nominal codes requirements and how to extract service provider allocation funding required for submitting the financial returns.

Timing

Accounts must be prepared to the year ended 31 August. Financial returns must be submitted within 6 months of the relevant year end.

The financial return for the year ended 31 August 2025 (Year 3: 2024/2025) will be available to submit via the portal from 27 February 2026 and the portal will remain open until midnight on 31 March 2026. Financial returns must be completed via the trail balance template which can be downloaded from the portal.

Changes from previous years

The financial returns process has been evolving over the years. For Years 1 and 2 of Core Funding (the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 programme years), transitional arrangements were in place with reduced requirements. For these years, the requirement was to complete and return an Income and Expenditure Template, (cash based accounting) which covered the period from 1 September to 31 August for each of the respective programme years.

Current year

For year 3 (2024/2025) the financial returns requirement is for accruals-based accounts and a full trial balance. The trial balance must be uploaded by the accountant using the nominal ledger codes/chart of accounts guidance provided on the Early Years Hive website.

There are instruction videos and guidance documents to assist on this website.

Accountants' role

The Department requires that the financial returns must be submitted by a qualified professional accountant. The Department shared a letter (attached) with accountants at the end of February 2026 outlining the steps to complete for submitting the financial returns for Year 3. This letter was sent to all accountants currently lined to childcare service providers on the CFCRRS portal.

The accountant can be an employee of the provider (if certain conditions are met ²) or an independent qualified accountant who holds a practicing certificate and professional indemnity insurance. Members submitting using this format must declare this on the porting portal.

In-house qualified accountant

In circumstances where there is an external auditor and they are not submitting the financial returns a qualified accountant employed by the childcare service provider may make the submission. There will be an option to flag this type of submission on the reporting portal which will require the accountant to provide their own membership number and the name of the external auditor.

Details regarding conditions for who can submit the trial balance template are included in the ‘Core Funding Financial Reporting Requirements for 2024/25 Programme Year Frequently Asked Questions for Accountants (February 2026)’ document on the Early Years Hive website.

Guidance Document

The Department published Guidance notes ³ and a number of Frequently Asked Questions at the end of February in addition to issuing a letter to accountants.

Members should also refer to the following guidance documents issued by Chartered Accountants Ireland.

TA 06/2023 Grant Claims and the International Standard on Related Service ISRS 4400 (Revised) Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagements which give guidance on engagement acceptance and continuance and some general advice on agreeing the terms of engagement.

Considerations for auditors

Where you are engaged as an auditor for the service provider there are additional matters to consider.

Where an accountant is the statutory auditor, the Ethical Standard for Auditors (Ireland) applies.

Section 5.132 prohibits audit firms from providing accounting services that involve management roles or initiating transactions.

Key extracts from the Ethical Standard for Auditor (Ireland):

Non-audit services shall not be provided that involve playing any part in management decision-making
The firm shall not accept engagements where it is probable that a reasonable third party would conclude the firm is playing a management role.
Accounting services must be routine or mechanical in nature, requiring minimal professional judgment.

Auditors should familiarise themselves with the standard and in particular Sections 1.27, 5.31, 5.131, and 5.132.

A professional accountant is defined as a member of a Prescribed Accountancy Body that comes within the supervisory remit of IAASA, namely: Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI); Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). ↩
These conditions are set out in Section 2 of the Core Funding Financial reporting Requirements FAQ. ↩
Early Years Hive Core funding documents. Refer to the ‘Core Funding Financial Reporting Requirements Year 3 (2024/2025) Trial Balance’ section of the website ↩

These pages are provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional or legal advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.

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