Lowering early childhood education fees
Act amending section 5 of the Act on Client Fees in Early Childhood Education and Care
Client fees for municipal early childhood education and care will be reduced by raising the income thresholds used to determine fees by 33 per cent. The change will lower early childhood education and care fees particularly for middle-income families and make early childhood education and care free of charge for more families.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 20 Oct 2022
- Latest event
- 20 Dec 2022
- Votes
- 5
- Speeches
- 24
- Confirmed
- 29 Dec 2022
- Statute
- 1365/2022
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The income thresholds in the Act on Client Fees in Early Childhood Education and Care will be raised by 33 per cent across all family sizes. The fee percentages and maximum fees will remain unchanged.
What it means
The change will enter into force on 1 March 2023 and is estimated to bring approximately 30,000 new households within the scope of completely free early childhood education and care, improving the purchasing power and work incentives of low- and middle-income families in particular. Municipal client fee revenue will decrease by approximately 70 million euros annually, which will be compensated to municipalities by allocating them a larger share of corporation tax revenue (100 million euros). The reform is estimated to increase the number of children participating in early childhood education and care by approximately 2,900 and employment by approximately 1,900 people by 2026.
How Parliament voted
2nd reading · 29 Nov 2022Parliament passed the act by 121–31.
Only the Finns Party against. 47 MPs were absent. Minutes ↗
Filled dot = yes, ring = no, grey = absent. The seating plan at the time of this vote is not archived, so MPs are grouped by party in indicative seats.
A passed act does not enter into force immediately: the President of the Republic confirms it, and it enters into force on the date set in the act. This act was confirmed on 29 Dec 2022.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
24 speeches · 2 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate addressed the reduction of client fees for early childhood education and care and the raising of income thresholds. The government parties and the National Coalition Party defended the reform as supporting families' purchasing power, equality and employment. The Finns Party opposed the proposal, citing government debt and staff shortages in day-care centres, while the Christian Democrats raised concerns about the quality of the service.
- Will lowering fees worsen staff shortages in early childhood education and care?
- Should the rising cost of living have been compensated with more direct measures?
- Is lowering fees using borrowed money economically sustainable?
- Social DemocratsIn favour
The reform eases families' livelihoods, increases incentives to work and raises the participation rate in early childhood education and care.
”Esitys on myös tärkeä uusi askel kohti sosiaalidemokraattien pitkäaikaista tavoitetta maksuttomasta varhaiskasvatuksesta kaikille lapsille.”
— Merja Mäkisalo-Ropponen - Left AllianceIn favour
Lowering fees improves the purchasing power of families with children during inflation, dismantles incentive traps and advances the goal of free early childhood education and care.
”Tässä esityksessä alennetaan varhaiskasvatuksen asiakasmaksuja niin, että maksujen perusteena olevia tulorajoja korotetaan 33 prosenttia.”
— Li Andersson - National Coalition PartyIn favour
The National Coalition Party supported lowering fees to make everyday life easier for families with children and to raise the participation rate, although it criticised the Government's debt accumulation.
”Kokoomus olisi itse asiassa valmis alentamaan varhaiskasvatusmaksuja jopa enemmän kuin hallituksen esityksessä nyt.”
— Sanni Grahn-Laasonen - Finns PartyAgainst
The proposal was opposed because it was seen as increasing public debt, being poorly targeted at low-income earners, and further burdening early childhood education and care, which already suffers from labour shortages.
”Perussuomalaisten mielestä hallituksen esitys varhaiskasvatuksen asiakasmaksujen alentamisesta on kokonaisuutena sekava, varhaiskasvatuksen ongelmia kasvattava ja julkista taloutta heikentävä.”
— Kaisa Juuso - Christian DemocratsIn favour with reservations
The group considered fee relief and employment incentives positive, but was concerned about staff shortages in day-care centres and deteriorating quality as the number of children increases.
”tälläkin hetkellä keskeinen ongelma on päivähoidon tilanne, eikä asiakasmaksujen alentaminen tätä laatukysymystä paranna — päinvastoin se lisää ongelmia, koska lasten määrä lisääntyy.”
— Päivi Räsänen
This digest was generated by AI from 24 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu päättyi. Asia lähetettiin sivistysvaliokuntaan.
Keskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 20 Oct 2022Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö
- 25 Oct 2022Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 23 Nov 2022Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · sivistysvaliokunta
- 24 Nov 2022Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 30 Nov 2022Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 20 Dec 2022Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki varhaiskasvatuksen asiakasmaksuista annetun lain 5 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 1365/2022 · 29 Dec 2022
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki varhaiskasvatuksen asiakasmaksuista annetun lain 5 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan varhaiskasvatuksen asiakasmaksuista annetun lain (1503/2016) 5 §:n 2 ja 3 momentti, sellaisena kuine ne ovat laissa 1052/2020, seuraavasti:
5 §Kokoaikaisen varhaiskasvatuksen kuukausimaksu
Maksuprosentit ja tulorajat ovat:
Perheen koko, henkilöä Tuloraja, euroa/kuukausi Korkein maksuprosentti
2 3 874 10,70
3 4 998 10,70
4 5 675 10,70
5 6 353 10,70
6 7 028 10,70
Jos perheen koko on suurempi kuin kuusi henkilöä, korotetaan maksun määräämisen perusteena olevaa tulorajaa 262 eurolla kustakin seuraavasta perheen alaikäisestä lapsesta.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 2 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.