PIP Announcement: Programme Support Payments (PSP) 2019/20

​Programme Support Payments (PSP) 2019/20

Dear Service Provider,

Programme Support Payments (PSP) will open for applications from Friday May 29 until Friday June 12 2020; the payments will issue after the application process ends.

A ‘How to Guide’ including screen shots explaining how to apply through the service provider portal is attached here.

On Friday 17th April, to assist with any cash flow difficulties being experienced by services due to COVID-19, the DCYA released an advance payment of one third of the Programme Support Payment (PSP) that services were scheduled to receive in June 2020.

This payment together with the remaining two-thirds are subject to the terms and conditions outlined in the PSP application form.

In order to receive the remaining two-thirds and retain the one third already paid to services, the application form must be completed and submitted by Friday 12 June 2020.

Late applications will not be accepted

If a service does not wish to apply, then the advance payment must be returned. Please contact eypc@pobal.ie to make arrangements to return the payment.

Calculation of PSP 2019/2020 (included in announcement of advance payment 15/04/2020)

The PSP for this programme cycle involves a new calculation to include the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) which is being brought into the PSP along with ECCE, CCSP and TEC. The total amount available to providers for 2020, payable this year, remains the same as last year at €19.4m, however, funding for individual providers and registrations may differ from previous years.

PSP is calculated based on a period in time referred to as the “snapshot” period. A number of different snapshot periods during the programme year have been used to calculate PSP since it was introduced in June 2017. This year, December 2019 was selected as an equitable point on which to base the ECCE, CCSP and TEC 2020 PSP payment and March 2020 was the base used for NCS, reflecting that it was a new scheme only introduced in November. PSP is calculated as equal to 7 days’ (1.4 weeks’) registrations for ECCE at Standard Capitation, 1 week for NCS, and 12.5 days’ (2.5 weeks’) registrations for CCSP and TEC, in respect of the 2019/20 programme cycle.

Note: You will receive a separate PSP payment relative to each contract, it will not be a combined single payment. Your provider portal and the remittance advice you receive will include a description of each payment.