Vienna ÖVP challenges handling of kindergarten funding cuts

Vienna’s ÖVP has criticised how the city handled funding cuts to kindergartens after irregularities were found at their operators. Thirteen kindergarten associations lost funding this year, ORF reports.

ÖVP parliamentary leader Harald Zierfuß said four of the 13 operators had been flagged for problems as early as 2024, and questioned why payments continued. He also said five associations had worked with the city since 2009 or 2010, around the start of free kindergarten provision.

The 13 associations received a total of 121 million euros in subsidies since 2010 and cared for nearly 1,500 children. More than 1 million euros has been reclaimed, Zierfuß said, although some of that amount remains outstanding. According to the city’s response to an information request, none of the affected associations continued operating without subsidies.

Some funding cuts followed a report by the city audit office that uncovered several cases of suspected misconduct. The city said its review and decision-making process was not yet complete, and no reports had so far been filed with the public prosecutor’s office.

Zierfuß said the city could not provide figures on how many children from the affected kindergartens were still seeking a place. Families were advised to contact the city’s service centre. The municipal department responsible for kindergartens said it was not responsible for communicating with parents and had instructed the operators to inform them immediately about the funding cuts.

Zierfuß called that approach unacceptable, saying parents were being left to rely on the operators. He also accused the authority of continuing to provide funding despite years of warnings and said hundreds of children had lost their kindergarten places at short notice. The city did not have figures on how many still lacked a replacement place.