Free nursery for the second child, how it works, from when and for whom

Budget Law 2024, one innovation in particular among those announced by Giorgia Meloni in the press conference is arousing greater interest: that concerning the possibility that next year nursery school will become free starting from the second child.
In this way the government lends a hand to families, especially recognizing important support for workers given that today the nursery bonus is not always sufficient to cover all the expenses necessary for attending nursery schools.
It must be said that to date we know very little about this instrument and probably not even with the publication of the text of the 2024 budget law will our curiosity be satisfied.
From the statement made by Giorgia Meloni, in fact, it seems that in the maneuver the resources were simply allocated to allow the achievement of this ambitious goal, however postponing it to a subsequent implementing decree (most likely under the responsibility of the Minister for Family, Birth and equal opportunities) the implementation methods.
Free nursery in 2024, what Giorgia Meloni said To try to understand more about this instrument, therefore, we must analyze the statements made by the Prime Minister regarding a family package that does not only include the possibility of enjoying nursery free but also other support measures mostly for workers with children (such as the introduction of an additional month of parental leave paid at 60%).
In detail, Meloni declared: We will significantly increase the fund for nursery schools.
Our goal is to say that starting from the second child, kindergarten is free.
We will allocate approximately 180 million euros to it.
Statements which therefore must not be misunderstood: at least from his words, in fact, it does not seem that all nursery costs for the second child will automatically be eliminated starting from 2024, but only that it is an objective that this government intends to achieve.
There is no question of the "how", nor whether this innovation will be limited only to low-income families.
It is therefore still early to get excited about what to date are only declarations: the intention is good, but let's wait for this additional allocation to be transformed into something concrete before we go too far in this regard.
How the nursery bonus works today As anticipated, today there is already a measure that allows us to reduce the expense necessary for attending public or private nursery schools: it is the nursery bonus, with which the family is granted a reimbursement of the cost incurred within a limit that varies depending on the ISEE.
In detail, today thanks to the bonus for nursery schools you can recover: 272.73 euros per month for 11 months (3 thousand euros per year) for those with an ISEE that does not exceed 25 thousand euros; 227.27 euros per month for 11 months (2,500 euros per year) for those with an ISEE between 25 thousand and 40 thousand euros; 136.37 euros per month for 11 months (1,500 euros per year) for those with an ISEE greater than 40 thousand euros or for those who apply without a valid ISEE.
In this regard, it cannot be ruled out that these amounts will be revised starting from the second child, raising the reimbursement threshold and thus being able to recover a greater amount.
Also because today, especially in private settings, the nursery school fee usually exceeds the maximum reimbursable threshold, even that for those with a lower ISEE (around 272 euros as seen above): therefore, we need to intervene on the nursery school bonus – as among other things already done in 2023 in favor of the Single Allowance – it could be a solution to give families the opportunity to be able to count on the service for free.