As per the press release published jointly on 3 October 2025 by the Department with the Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail Alan Dillon, a new funding element, the Staff Funding Additional Contribution, will be introduced to centre-based services, effective from the new ERO’s approval date of the 13 October 2025.

What date will the ERO come into effect?

The ERO is effective from the 13 October 2025. This means that the necessary Application Change will open on the Core Funding Application at 10am on 13 October and close on 19 October 2025. This timeframe is available to a Partner Service to submit an Application Change in the Core Funding Application, so that the Staff Funding Additional Contribution allocation value is at the maximum funding available for the programme year.

What am I required to do in advance? 

In preparation of the ERO effective date, it is important that Partner Services have their application information for the 2025/2026 Core Funding programme year up to date and ensure their most recent application record is at an “Approved” status.

What am I required to do when the EROs come into effect?

To avail of the Staff Funding Additional Contribution, eligible Partner Services must submit an Application Change between the 13 to the 19 October 2025 and input a Change Effective Date from the 13/10/2025 in the “Staff Member and/or Capacity Change Effective Date” field, when submitting their Application Change. This must be completed in the required timeframe above in order to generate their allocation value for the Staff Funding Additional Contribution for the 2025/2026 Core Funding Programme Year.

Any increase in the Staff Funding Additional Contribution will be effective from the Application Change submission date or the change effective date, whichever is the later. Therefore, to ensure a service is allocated the maximum funding available, it is important that Partner Service submit the Application Change within the required timeframe above, as any delay will result in the increase occurring later than the ERO effective date. Backdating will not be permitted. 

Note: For the Staff Funding Additional Contribution allocation to generate, a Partner Service must not submit an Application Change earlier than 10am 13 October 2025. If an application change is submitted before this date, the ERO will not be in effect, therefore will not be applied to the application.

Where can I find further information about the Staff Funding Additional Contribution?

Further information about the Staff Funding Additional Contribution can be found in Schedule 3 and Schedule 2, Section 3.7 to 3.8, of the Core Funding Partner Services Funding Agreement.

What Review should Partner Services carry out to ensure Grant Values are correct during an application change, before submitting?

It is important that on the summary page of your Core Funding application, before submitting your Application Change, that you review the information submitted as part of your Application Change and review the grant values associated with the Staff Funding Additional Contribution.

If your service requires support, additional resources are available under the Core Funding Documents and Help and Support sections on the Early Years Hive. Your local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) also remain available to assist you in completing your Core Funding Application Module.

If you require any further assistance or clarification on any of the above, please contact the Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC) by raising a Service Request.