Childcare providers in rural areas are signing up for the Government’s new subsidy scheme at a considerably faster rate than in urban centres.

From September the Department of Children will begin paying a universal childcare support worth to up €1,040 per year for children aged between six months and three years.

Of the 4,500 childcare services in the country, more than half have begun the process of engaging with the scheme.

Sign-up is highest in Roscommon, Donegal, Sligo, Kerry, Galway, Carlow and Leitrim, where an average of 75pc of providers have engaged. In Dublin, Cork and Limerick, the figures are as much as 10pc lower.

It comes as Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone prepares to release figures showing the number of children supported by targeted childcare schemes aimed at the less well-off has reached unprecedented levels.

The jump is being attributed to a national information campaign ahead of childcare changes starting in September. An extra 2,500 children are now getting support – bringing these numbers up to more than 30,000.

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