Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 April 2024
570. Deputy Josepha Madigan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of crèches that have withdrawn from the core funding model; the average increases in funding that have been given to crèches over the past few years since implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18981/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraInvestment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.1 billion in 2024 – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector.
The introduction of Core Funding in September 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €210.8m of brand new funding for the sector in its first year of operation.
One of the key objectives of Core Funding is to support the sector as a whole with the introduction of direct supply-side funding, in addition to the ECCE programme and the NCS, to create a more stable and sustainable financial environment.
Furthermore, Core Funding makes a significant additional contribution to services’ income, allowing them to better absorb increased costs. In Year 1 of Core Funding, some €259 million was allocated under the scheme and 99% of services saw their income increase through Core Funding with 1%, or close to 60 services, receiving top up payments to ensure their income did not decrease for the same level of provision offered.
The average allocation for a Partner Service has increased by 9% between March 2023 and March 2024. There is additional funding available in the current programme year to further increase funding to services with graduate lead educators and managers who have fewer than 3 years’ experience. The release of this funding is dependent on the establishment of updated Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) reflecting this change.
Arising from Budget 2024, the Core Funding allocation for year 3 of the scheme will increase again by 15% - to €331 million. This will support the delivery of a range of enhancements in Year 3 of the scheme to support improved affordability and accessibility for families, improved pay and conditions for the workforce and improved sustainability for providers.
According to recent data from Pobal, 28 services have withdrawn from Core Funding this year.
Of these services, 15 have permanently closed and 13 continue to operate. I am aware also that three other services have notified Pobal of their intention to withdraw from the Scheme in the coming weeks.
Services who signed the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement have a contractual obligation to give three months’ notice before withdrawing from the Scheme.
This means that only those three services mentioned above are due to leave before 24 July 2024.
Providers that withdraw from Core Funding remain eligible, in this programme year, to continue to offer the ECCE programme and the National Childcare Scheme.
While my Department cannot mandate providers to participate, every effort has been made to carefully design Core Funding to meet a range of policy objectives, including achieving high levels of participation by providers.
95% of providers participated in year 1 of the Scheme and to date, 94% or over 4,300 providers have signed up for Core Funding in year 2. There are more providers, in absolute terms, contracted to the Scheme this year compared to year 1 and applications are still open and continue to increase.
It is a matter for providers to decide whether they wish to withdraw from Core Funding, the significant financial supports it offers to providers and the certainty it provides to parents through the associated fee freeze. However, I am confident that given the level of investment in this Scheme, which will increase by 15% or €44 million to €331 million in year 3, services should not need to take this step.
I do not want any services to be faced with financial sustainability issues and I am fully committed to working with any such service to support them in delivering early learning and childcare for the public good.
Supports are available from my Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, accessed through local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC). Any service who would like to avail of advice or supports on a concern regarding their sustainability, is encouraged to reach out to their local CCC. Contact details for their local CCC can be found at www.myccc.ie.
I encourage services to avail of these supports as an alternative to withdrawing from Core Funding and removing the benefits of this Scheme to parents.
