Pobal Portal Guide
Early Years Hive
Complete Guide
Master the Pobal Hive portal for child registrations, ECCE and NCS claims, and government funding.
What is Early Years Hive?
Early Years Hive (often called “Hive” or “the Hive”) is the online portal for managing Irish childcare funding programmes, administered by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. If you run a registered childcare service in Ireland, you use Hive to:
- Register children for ECCE and NCS programmes
- Confirm NCS registrations in a weekly reporting return
- Receive government funding payments
- Manage your service's profile and compliance
- Access reports and reconciliation data
Hive is the single source of truth for Irish childcare funding. Accurate data in Hive means accurate payments - discrepancies between your records and Hive can lead to payment issues or compliance audits.
Key Hive Functions for Providers
1Child Registrations
Register each child with the details the scheme requires. This links the child to your service in the system.
- • ECCE: full name, DOB, PPSN and Eircode
- • NCS: CHICK from the parent, valid up to 12 months
- • NCS: parent must confirm in the Parent Portal before payment
2NCS Weekly Returns
Confirm each NCS child against actual attendance every week. ECCE has no weekly claim — capitation follows your approved registrations.
- • Flag leavers and 4 weeks of non-attendance
- • Flag 8 weeks attending fewer hours than claimed
- • Miss the deadline and that week is suspended
3Payment Processing
View payment schedules and amounts. Payments are made directly to your registered bank account.
- • ECCE: capitation on the ECCE payment schedule
- • NCS: hourly subsidies, paid weekly
- • Payment remittance details available
4Reconciliation
Verify claimed attendance matches your records. Essential for compliance and audits.
- • Export reconciliation reports
- • Identify discrepancies early
- • Support audit requirements
Reconciliation Best Practices
Daily Attendance Recording
Record attendance daily, not retrospectively. This ensures accuracy and provides an audit trail.
Weekly Cross-Check
Before submitting claims, verify your system's attendance matches what you're claiming in Hive.
Document Absences
Record reasons for absences. Some absence types (illness, holidays) may have different treatment.
Keep 12 Months On-Site
Pobal inspections look back up to 12 months, so keep at least that much attendance history accessible on the premises, and amend Hive claims as soon as a discrepancy appears.
Compliance Note: Pobal compliance inspections are unannounced, and overclaims can be recouped. Issues left unresolved are referred to the Compliance Framework, where a sanction of 6% of your annual Core Funding allocation applies — 80% payable on entry to Level 2, the rest if it is still not rectified.
Common Issues and Fixes
CHICK number not found
Solution: Parent needs to complete NCS application at ncs.gov.ie. CHICK is only issued after approval.
PPSN or Eircode missing or mismatched
Solution: Both are required for ECCE. Check the PPSN against the child’s documents; if no Eircode exists, request an exemption using the PPSN.
Attendance exceeds registered hours
Solution: Check the child's registered session pattern. Adjust attendance or update registration.
Subsidy not flowing on a registered child
Solution: Check the parent has confirmed the registration in the Parent Portal — payments cannot flow until they do.
Payment amount different than expected
Solution: Check for attendance adjustments, rate changes, or reconciliation corrections applied by Pobal.
How CrecheHQ Works Alongside Hive
Hive is where you register children and file returns — CrecheHQ is where the numbers behind them come from. It keeps your attendance records accurate and audit-ready, so your weekly returns take minutes and stand up to any Pobal inspection.
Accurate Attendance
Real-time kiosk check-in/out creates an auditable attendance trail
CHICK Number Storage
Store CHICK numbers securely on child profiles for easy reference
Compliance Dashboard
Monitor attendance thresholds and spot discrepancies before claiming
Export Reports
Generate attendance reports to key into Hive and to hand to a Visit Officer
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Early Years Hive
What is Early Years Hive?
Early Years Hive (commonly called Hive) is the online portal Irish childcare providers use to administer the Department of Children, Disability and Equality funding schemes, with Pobal as scheme administrator. You use it to register children for ECCE and NCS, file your weekly NCS returns, and receive funding payments.
How do I register a child on Early Years Hive?
For ECCE, the parent or guardian must give you the child’s full name exactly as it appears on their birth certificate or passport, their date of birth, their PPSN and their Eircode — all four are required. Where an Eircode is genuinely unavailable, an exemption can be requested using the child’s PPSN. For NCS you need the CHICK the parent receives once their application is approved. An NCS registration is not finished when you submit it: the parent has to confirm it in the Parent Portal before any subsidy can be paid.
When do I need to submit claims on Early Years Hive?
The two schemes work differently. NCS requires a reporting return every week, confirming each child’s registration against actual attendance, and subsidies are paid weekly — if a return is late, that week’s payment is suspended until it is completed. ECCE has no weekly claim: capitation follows your approved child registrations on the ECCE payment schedule, and those registrations need to keep matching real attendance.
What is reconciliation on Early Years Hive?
Reconciliation means keeping what you have registered and returned on Hive matched to the attendance that actually happened. Weekly NCS returns must flag a child who has left, four consecutive weeks of non-attendance, and any child who has attended fewer hours than claimed for eight consecutive weeks. Pobal Visit Officers check the same ground during unannounced compliance inspections, reviewing up to 12 months of records — so keep at least 12 months of attendance records on-site and accessible.
What should I do if my Hive claim is rejected?
Common causes are mismatched child details, an expired or unconfirmed CHICK, a missing Eircode, or attendance exceeding registered hours. Check the error in Hive, verify the registration against the child’s documents, and confirm your attendance records are accurate. Remember a CHICK expires no more than 12 months after the award is notified, and a registered claim left unconfirmed by the parent for 3 months after the CHICK expires can be cancelled. Contact the Early Years Provider Centre if the issue persists.
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