Vol. 1066 No. 2
89. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when she expects the planned review of core funding to take place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20772/25]
As a dad of three in a constituency that has one of the fastest growing communities in the country, childcare and the services that underpin our childcare system are crucial to many of the working families. My question for the Minister is regarding the planned review of core funding, the timeframe for that to be rolled out, the process that will underpin it and give certainty to a number of providers who at this stage are starting to leave the childcare system because of the financial pressure they are under.
I thank the Deputy. This issue is of particular interest to him and he has raised it many times.
As I have said previously, the introduction of core funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding. Since the scheme was introduced, its effectiveness has been subject to ongoing review and the scheme itself has evolved year on year. Core funding increased by 11% to reach €287 million for the second year, and by a further 15% to €331 million for the current and third year of the scheme. The allocation of this additional funding in years 2 and 3 was informed by the data from previous years and feedback from stakeholders, as well as an independent financial review of sessional services by Frontier Economics.
Targeted supports for small and sessional services introduced in year 2 were also enhanced in year 3. Moreover, changes to fee management were introduced in year 3, enabling low-fee services to apply for a fee increase. The full-year allocation for year 4 of core funding will be €350 million. As already has been referenced, a further €45 million has been ring-fenced to support employers to meet the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay in the sector. Combined, and contingent on the third successive employment regulation order, the core funding allocation will exceed €390 million. It is an unprecedented investment by the State. The details of the allocation will be published shortly, and has been informed by data from previous years as well as stakeholder feedback. An evaluation of the first year of core funding and the development of an evaluation framework for core funding is currently under way. This project will examine the early implementation of core funding and will make recommendations for further evaluations of the grant. Findings from the project are expected in or after quarter 4 2025.
This project is being undertaken by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, IGEES, policy analysts working in the research and evaluation unit of my Department.
I thank the Minister for her response. Without a doubt, I welcome the huge progress that has been made in bringing the costs of childcare back down. It was certainly raised with me by parents throughout the campaign and we are keen to maintain that progress and see it persist throughout the lifetime of this Government and to achieve that aim of a monthly cap of €200 in childcare costs for every family in the State. The trick with core funding is - and I fully understand the challenges - about getting the balance right for parents but also for providers. There have been one or two providers in my constituency that have withdrawn from the core funding model. What they have told me is that the financial pressure they are under is real. I acknowledge the progress that has been made with regard to issues such as pay and so on but I ask that the evaluations that will be undertaken by the IGEES and other bodies will feed into that planned review and give certainty to the provider side of the sector to ensure it can then give certainty to the parents who rely on its services.
As I have said previously, there has been almost €1 billion of investment by the State into this whole sector. It is unprecedented; it has never been done before. It has had a significant impact, both in terms of supporting providers, but also reducing costs for parents. We are now seeing more services opening than closing, which is a significant feature and consequence of core funding. In fact, 92% of all providers are in the core funding model. It is very high. As a consequence, we have seen fee freezes in a majority of services. We have seen a stability of funding for providers, which is hugely important to them. Again, as I have said, we have the lowest level of closures in six years. It is quite significant in that respect. There is more work to be done here, however. I hear, from engagement with providers, that there are issues for them with regard to the amount of administrative burdens placed on them. We are doing a body of work in that regard, while also supporting parents and workers in the sector.
I recognise the huge progress that has been made in giving stability to that sector and shoring it up. That public investment is extremely welcome, not only because of the relief it gives working parents, but also ensuring full participation in the labour market for men and women, that they do not have to worry about the cost of childcare. One of the hallmarks of how core funding has been improved in the previous four years - which has been very positive and I am keen for it to continue - is that engagement between the Department, parents and providers and that parents who have rightly seen the great progress being made in reducing the cost of childcare are not necessarily left with a provider that will exit the core funding scheme. It is not necessarily that the provider would close, but that it would exit the core funding scheme. The review the Minister has alluded to is important, and I look forward to seeing the results of the evaluation.
I also welcome the Minister's clarification today that a body of work is being done on the administrative burden faced by childcare providers, which, compared to the Minister's previous portfolio in schools and so on, there is a bit of difference there in respect of how much administrative work is required of childcare providers versus schools.
I cannot and will not underestimate how important it is that we get this right. However, I am also conscious that it is an evolving and live situation. Things change and move with time. From every step of the way of the introduction of core funding, there have been learnings, notwithstanding the fact that there is a significant evaluation of the first year of core funding, and how this evaluation will examine the early implementation of core funding and make recommendations for future changes and additions that we might be able to make for the grant. As I have said, the findings of that will be published in and around the first quarter of 2025 or thereafter. The Deputy made a very strong point that, where there is sufficient childcare, it ensures that we have equality of access to the labour market. I do not think that we should forget that. It is a worthwhile investment. There is more to be done, but the work is well under way.
90. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to confirm the staff retention rates among early years educators for the past five years; the actions being taken to improve staff retention in the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20975/25]
Will the Minister confirm the staff retention rates among early years educators for the past five years and the actions being taken to improve staff retention in the sector? Will she make a statement on the matter?
I thank the Deputy. The annual early years sector profile survey does not collect staff retention data specifically. However, it does record data on staff turnover. Data from this survey shows that, over the period from 2019 to 2023, staff turnover rates ranged from 23% in 2019 to 24.5% in 2023. The 2023 data shows that almost one third of the turnover rate is due to staff moving from one provider to another. Staff turnover is linked to pay and working conditions. While the Government is the primary funder of the sector, the State is not an employer of staff and neither I, nor the Department, as I have said previously, set pay or working conditions.
The joint labour committee process is the formal mechanism by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates for the sector, which are set down in law through employment regulation orders.
Outcomes from the joint labour committee process are supported by Government through core funding, which has seen its allocation increase from €259 million in year one to €350 million for the coming programme year 2025-26.
As many Deputies have referred to, an additional €45 million is now ring-fenced in the coming year to support employers in meeting the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay. This allocation is conditional on updated employment regulation orders. Officials from my Department continue to discuss issues of recruitment and retention with stakeholders through a subgroup of the early learning and childcare stakeholder forum. The general consensus of the subgroup is that pay and working conditions are a significant barrier for recruitment and retention. In addition to ring-fenced funding to support improvements in pay and working conditions, some outcome actions from the subgroup include the importance of introducing the student fast-track process for recognition of studies to work in services out of term, and the assessment of unfinished qualifications, whereby people who may have started a relevant qualification but did not get to finish it can have completed work assessed for meeting qualification requirements.
I very much appreciate that additional funding is going into this area. It is interesting to see that the majority of services reported having difficulty recruiting staff over the last 12 months, a process that was reported as difficult or very difficult by 95% of managers. The challenges of recruiting and retaining staff are having stark consequences, with 30% of managers reporting that problems recruiting or retaining staff will result in service closure, an increase of 6% over the previous year's survey. The threat of room closures was reported by 42% of managers, an increase of 9% from 2022. There is a challenge there and it is about trying to meet that challenge and the demands out there in the provision of the services. This needs a continued review and planning for the year forward and into 2026. We need to make sure we have a substantial increase in funding over the next 12 months.
I confirm there is a significant increase through core funding. It is going to €350 million for the 2025-26 year, which is a hugely significantly amount of resource provided by the State. As I said previously, 92% of providers are participating in the core funding model. In its entirety, if we look at the last three years and going into this following year, almost €1 billion is being expended by the State here. It is a real surety for providers that this funding is being made available. It is important to say when we talk about closures and the threat of closures that we have had lowest level of closures ever in the system over the past six years.
The Deputy is 100% correct that the most important thing here is to ensure that those who work in the sector are suitably recompensed for working in the sector because if we do not have the workers then the providers cannot provide the service and parents cannot ensure their children are being cared for.
I fully agree that a lot of work is being done and a lot of improvements have occurred.
The other challenge in early childcare is access to appropriate facilities. We need to work together on access to facilities, not only in the Minister's Department but also across other Government Departments. I have come across a number of areas where there is difficulty in getting access to facilities and therefore the service cannot be provided in particular areas. We need to do a lot more work on that, and especially in new housing areas where developers are slowing up in the provision of new facilities or there is no-one available to come in to provide those facilities. It is not only a staff challenge, it is also a challenge around the provision of the facilities. This will be a more difficult challenge to face due to costs increasing in recent years.
It is important that there is now a forward planning unit in the Department to ensure we are looking towards the future to see where there are significant gaps in the need for the service and the lack of the service being provided. The Government has given the commitment in the programme for Government that where this gap might be in play, and where no providers are taking the opportunity to provide the service, the State will step in. Currently a mapping tool is being developed and utilised by the Department to ensure we have the most up-to-date information on that.
On ensuring the workforce is suitably upskilled, the nurturing skills programme is a very important source of support for workers. There has been a significant uptake, be it for professional development or ensuring that people can move to level 7 and level 8 qualifications, and the funding is provided for same.
I thank the Minister. We now move to question No. 91 in the name of Deputy Cathy Bennett. Deputy Claire Kerrane will ask this question on Deputy Bennett's behalf.
91. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeframe in which she intends to reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21004/25]
I wish to ask the Minister about the cost of childcare, which remains very high for a lot of parents and families. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to reduce the cost of childcare. How does the Minister intend to go about this and does she have a timeframe in mind for reducing the costs for families?
Investment in early learning and childcare is now at an unprecedented level, with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025 clearly demonstrating the Government’s commitment in this area. As well as addressing affordability, this investment has served to improve accessibility, availability and the quality of provision. The new programme for Government provides the impetus to go further and to deliver more high-quality early learning and childcare places at a cost that is affordable to families. It will build on the considerable work done to date, including the early childhood care and education programme, which provides two years of pre-school without charge and enjoys participation rates of 96% each year, and the national childcare scheme, which provides subsidies, both universal and targeted, to reduce the costs to parents for children to participate in early learning and childcare.
The national childcare scheme has already seen the extension of the universal subsidy to all children under the age of 15 and two increases to the minimum hourly subsidy in recent years. The minimum subsidy is now worth €96.20 per child per week for 45 hours of early learning and childcare. The fee management system introduced through core funding ensures that the investment in affordability is not unnecessarily absorbed by fee increases or uncapped fees.
The programme for Government commits to continuing to improve affordability and to reach the €200 per month cap within the lifetime of the Government. In addition, a forward planning model - which I have already referred to - is in development . This will be central to my Department's plans to achieve the policy goals to build an affordable, high-quality and accessible early learning and childcare system, with State-led facilities adding capacity. Officials are currently developing a mapping tool, using administrative data on schemes and population location, to identify areas where supply and demand are mismatched and are greatest. Very importantly, with regard to the voices of parents an Ipsos poll to parents will also inform future planning. This will enable the State to step in where it is necessary.
Does the Minister envisage investing more in the national childcare scheme to bring down the costs directly for parents? This is what Sinn Féin had proposed with our €10 per day plan, which is around €200 per month. This is using what is there with the current mechanism as the quickest way to bring down the costs of childcare. While the Government repeatedly tells us that the costs of childcare have halved there are families still paying well over €1,000 a month for childcare. Parents are really struggling to cover the costs.
Accessibility was mentioned. Of course accessibility is just as important as affordability because it is fine if one can afford it, but one must be able to access it in the first place. Pobal has told us that 30,000 children are on waiting lists for childcare places, and many of these places just do not exist. We need to look at quick ways we can bring costs down and quick ways to grow the numbers of places available. Is it through the national childcare scheme that the Minister would look to reduce those costs, as she has done to date?
The Deputy is 100% correct. Accessibility is hugely important. If we do not have sufficient places available to parents then it is a huge burden. We are currently looking at seeking the information on where there is a need for the service and where the service is not available locally. The Government is currently looking at ways the State can step in at that point to provide those additional places. Those places would enhance what is already being provided by private providers but it would provide additionality led by the State.
The Deputy asked about the money and resources.
Currently, 92% of providers are in the core funding mechanism or process. That has helped to reduce costs for parents. On average, it is a substantial reduction for parents. We have more than 4,400 providers in the system at present.
In our own proposal on the €200 per month, we looked at using the national childcare scheme and expanding it to childminders. That would really assist in building capacity in the sector because for many parents, the choice is no longer there. If they want to get the subsidy and need help in affording childcare, they have to look to the formal setting whereas in rural areas in particular, a local childminder might actually suit people, especially those doing shift work. We should look to expand the NCS to childminders. It would give greater choice to parents and would improve and build capacity, which is really badly needed.
I asked the Minister's predecessor about some really good ideas Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland had about using existing buildings as community hubs, which would include a childcare element. There are some really good examples. There is one in Donegal. There are after-school activities, a crèche, music and sports all under one roof. Things like that should be looked at.
I agree that we should look at the widest offering already available within communities. We also have work to do regarding new housing developments where provision should be made for childcare facilities. That is being asked for but it is not always provided. In some areas, it works really well but, to be honest, it does not work well in other areas. A significant body of work needs to be done there. We are engaging with the Department of housing in that regard. The Deputy is right. Wherever there is an opportunity to use a building in an area to provide an integrated service, I can see value in doing so.
Childminders now all have an opportunity to register and become part of the system. That is important. We encourage childminders to do just that. I come from a rural constituency myself so I absolutely understand the value and importance of childminders.
92. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide the number of access and inclusion model childcare places provided since 2020, by county, in tabular form; the actions she is taking to increase places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20982/25]
I am asking this question for Deputy Wall. Will the Minister provide the number of access and inclusion model childcare places provided since 2020 by county in tabular form? What are the actions she is taking to increase the number of places? Will she make a statement on the matter?
The access and inclusion model, AIM, has supported more than 24,000 children with additional needs to access and meaningfully participate in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme since 2020. In September 2024, AIM was expanded beyond time spent in the ECCE programme for ECCE-aged children. These children can now access AIM supports for up to an additional three hours per day during the ECCE term and up to six hours per day outside of the ECCE term, that is, during holiday periods.
The supports available under AIM can be universal or targeted. Universal supports are designed to create a more inclusive culture in settings through training courses and qualifications for staff. Where universal supports are not enough to meet the needs of an individual child, targeted supports are available. These targeted supports are allocated based on the individual child’s specific needs and can include specialised equipment, appliances or capital grants towards minor building alterations.
Under level 7 of the access and inclusion model, services can also receive additional funding to either reduce the child-to-adult ratio in the room or to fund an extra staff member as a shared resource with other children in the setting. Data show that approximately 96% of AIM level 7 applications result in a recommendation for either a single or shared support.
For this programme year to date, more than 9,000 children have been approved for targeted supports under AIM. A table showing a breakdown of targeted supports across counties broken down by each programme year will be made available to the Deputy. I will ensure that happens. It is intended that, over time, all children with additional needs will have access to supports under AIM to access and participate in early learning and childcare. To this end, my officials are currently designing tailored AIM supports for younger children not yet eligible for the ECCE programme.
I thank the Minister. I appreciate that. If that table could also be shared with my colleague, Deputy Wall, that would be great. AIM is extremely important for early childhood care. As the Minister will know from her previous Department, the resourcing of special educational needs supports is very necessary in every facet of education. The issue of maintaining AIM comes back to financial constraints as regards level 7 and trying to get people into level 7 courses so that they can provide the universal and targeted supports the Minister has mentioned. At the end of year 3, the evaluation report outlined that work was under way to encourage families of students with less visible disabilities, such as speech and language issues and autism spectrum disorders in particular, to come in. I would appreciate if the Minister could share that information with Deputy Wall, as she said she will.
For sure, I will. It is a great model. Any additional supports that can be made available to children in any educational setting should be made available. As I previously said in respect of AIM supports, there is flexibility in the model. That is important. It can provide targeted supports and universal supports. Targeted measures are very much based on the individual needs of children. These might comprise specialised equipment or appliances or a capital grant to make minor alterations. As I have said, there can also be supports to reduce the child-adult ratio in the room or to provide an extra staff member to be shared as a resource. There is great flexibility there. I reiterate that we intend to go beyond what is currently there and to design a model for younger children who are not yet eligible for the ECCE programme. That would also be a positive step.
I thank the Minister. That is really to be welcomed. As the Minister has mentioned it, I will briefly touch on enhancing settings, access to settings and capital grants. As she has said, if we are trying to move towards more targeted supports for children with less visible disabilities, such as those on the autism spectrum and those who have speech and language difficulties, targeted support and capital grants for enhancing access to settings will be much needed. The Minister's reply is very much welcomed.
As I said previously, we all know that the earlier a child can get additional support, the better the outcome. We know that from our present education settings. When we talk about early learning and support, the earlier we can provide supports, the better. That is the specific reason we are looking at going beyond the ECCE model and including children who have not yet reached that point. The beauty of AIM is that it is showing itself to be flexible. We are continually learning through the model. Where there are opportunities to do things better, to enhance things or to meet the individual needs of a child, it is the aim and ambition of the programme to do so. We will continue to keep it under review and see what the scope is going forward. Again, it speaks to this understanding that, the earlier a child has access to additional support, the better it is for the child. I am keen to see this new model take root.
93. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children in State care who have reported being sexually abused in each of the past ten years, and to date in 2025. [20961/25]
A series of documents and emails that were exchanged between the Minister and the CEO of Tusla have been released to me under freedom of information legislation. They paint a very bleak picture of what is happening with the welfare of children in State care. How many children in care have been reported to have been sexually abused in recent years?
As the Deputy is aware, Tusla responds to all reports of sexual abuse promptly to ensure children are safeguarded. A child abuse notification is reported to An Garda Síochána in line with the joint working protocol between An Garda Síochána and Tusla. An Garda Síochána will deal with any criminal aspects of cases alleging abuse under the relevant criminal justice legislation. All allegations of child abuse are responded to, ensuring the safety and welfare needs of identified children who may be at risk of potential harm are protected. Where applicable, a child abuse substantiation procedure investigation will be undertaken to determine whether an allegation of child abuse is founded or unfounded.
More broadly, Children First provides national guidance for professionals, organisations and individuals to help keep all children safe and protected from harm, including sexual abuse. The Children First Act 2015 provides in detail a number of key child protection measures, including raising awareness of child abuse and neglect, providing for mandated reporting of child protection concerns, and improving child protection arrangements in organisations providing services to children.
When children in care disclose sexual abuse and their immediate safety has been secured, the child will be referred to the most appropriate service where their need can be met. Tusla has provided data on the number of children who have been admitted to care in the past ten years, as per the Deputy's question, where the report type, as assessed by a social worker, was sexual abuse. Over the ten-year period in question, sexual abuse has been reported in 221 admissions to care out of a total of 11,183. Regarding this figure, there may be incidences where a child has been admitted to care more than once. The Department can provide a table containing the full year-by-year breakdown. Other reasons for admitting a child into care can relate to neglect, ill-treatment or other types of abuse, such as physical abuse. Separately, since 2021, 115 referrals have been made by Tusla to An Garda Síochána under Operation Cosnaim, an operation set up by An Garda Síochána for the investigation of child sexual exploitation.
There have been 221 reported cases of sexual abuse of children in State care in the past ten years. That is a very dark figure. The other information I have received shows that, at the moment, there are 37 children missing from Tusla care, which is disastrous. Since 2021, Tusla has made referrals to the Garda of 161 children who are suspected of being victims of child sexual exploitation, 115 of which children were in care and 46 of whom were known to Tusla. Since 2014, 235 children have died who were either in State care or were known to State care. Ten of these children were murdered and 51 of them died because of suicide or drug overdoses. Again, these are shocking figures.
The reliance of Tusla on special emergency accommodation is incredible and we know that companies, to which Tusla has paid millions of euro, have actually falsified documents relating to verification. At present, is the Minister sure that 100% of people working in special emergency accommodation are Garda vetted?
Just to be clear, over the ten-year period that was part of the Deputy's question, there have been 221 admissions to care, as he has said and I have confirmed, out of a total of 11,183, where sexual abuse has been reported. These were admissions to care, and out of a total of 11,183 such admissions, there were 221 admissions to care where sexual abuse was reported. Regarding the figure, there may have been instances where a child had been admitted to care more than once and, as I said, the Department is happy to provide the Deputy with a table containing the full year-by-year breakdown.
On the children missing from care, these can fall under two categories: children who go missing from mainstream services for children in the care of Tusla and separated children seeking international protection. Missing children are predominantly a phenomenon involving separated children seeking international protection and, in particular, in relation to the children who remain unaccounted for, with 99% of-----
Thank you, Minister.
It is a pity we have so little time because there actually are so many important things here for both of us to discuss. I will quickly refer to the story on RTÉ today on the Grace report. That particular story on RTÉ reported that legal officials responsible for the affairs of the woman known as Grace claim that extensive submissions made to the commission by lawyers representing the woman were not included or referred to in any way in the commission's final report. The Minister must be deeply frustrated, like everybody else, if that is the case. How can it be justified that solicitors, who were the voice of Grace, were silenced by the commission in its final report?
There are other cases the national independent review panel is looking at. There are five other cases, such as the Brandon report in Donegal and the report of a 17-year-old girl who died by suicide. When will these reports be published? We need to get to grips with what is happening in our care system in this country.
Specifically on the question the Deputy raised about Grace and the commission of investigation, the commission, which was into certain matters relating to disability services in the south east and other related matters and is known as the Farrelly commission, is an entirely independent statutory commission of investigation empowered to investigate matters of significant public concern. It possesses robust investigative powers and, by design and by law, exercises its functions and powers independently of the Government, of me as Minister and of my Department. That is as was set out.
The General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court, who is the High Court appointed committee for Grace, made information available into the public domain today, as the Deputy referred to. I can confirm that I am meeting with the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court. We need to hear what she has to say. There is no doubt it is hugely concerning.
94. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the uptake in the building blocks extension grant scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20291/25]
As a very proud TD for Dublin Fingal West, one of the youngest constituencies in the country, I cannot understate the demand for childcare. As a mum of eight-year-old twins who has never been able to access childcare, the delivery of additional childcare places is an absolutely priority of mine and I really hope it is of this Government. The Minister might give us an update as to the uptake of the Pobal building blocks scheme to deliver more childcare places.
The building blocks extension grant scheme is designed to increase the number of full day places for one- to three-year-olds, pre-ECCE age range, in existing core funding partner services. A total of €25 million has been made available and it is anticipated to deliver a significant increase in places for this age cohort.
The building blocks extension grant scheme is offering the largest capital grants in many years and allows, for the first time since the national childcare investment programme, for the purchase or construction of new facilities to be operated by existing community providers. Up to €750,000 is available to not-for-profit providers wishing to purchase or construct new premises delivering net additional capacity. The scheme has four strands: extensions to existing premises for private services, extensions to existing premises for community services, purchases of new premises for community services and construction of new premises for community services.
The building blocks extension grant scheme was launched on 4 November 2024. The closing date for applications was 30 January. A total of 78 applications were received: four purchasing applications, 16 private extension applications, 22 construction applications and 36 community extension applications. These applications come from a variety of locations in the country. Initial eligibility reviews, a full appraisal process and further suitability checks have been undertaken on each of these applications. The OPW and Pobal completed appraisals of eligible applications against three criteria, which were evidence of need, quality of application and readiness to progress the project, and the scores on these criteria have been collated. A list of recommended services is under review with further detail being examined in some cases. I expect to announce imminently the outcome of the appraisals and the next steps of the process.
While I welcome the Pobal scheme, 78 applications is not a lot and 78 additional childcare facilities, or not even childcare facilities, is not sufficient for the demand we have in Ireland and it will certainly not do anything to meet the demands of the people in Dublin Fingal West. Will the Minister look seriously for more funding to support childcare providers in areas of high demand? As I said, I cannot understate the demand in Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush and Lusk. It is one of the youngest constituencies in Ireland - Balbriggan is the youngest large town - and we need to be doing everything we can to support more childcare providers. Fingal is littered with empty sites that are supposed to be childcare facilities and we as a Government need to do everything to make sure they are delivered. I very much hope childcare is a priority of this Government.
I assure the Deputy that childcare and early learning is an absolute priority of this Government. The building blocks extension grant scheme is an important part of that. I appreciate that €25 million is €25 million, but the 78 applications were just the applications.
There was no impediment in saying "We will take only X number". That was what we received. It is important that up to €750,000 is available to not-for-profit providers wishing to purchase or construct a new premises delivering net additional capacity. It is a significant amount of money. The Deputy is right, however, about the number of properties around the place that are empty and were designated when they were being built to support housing developments and are not being used as childcare facilities. There is an issue with that. It is working beautifully in some parts of the country but I am well aware where it is not working. We are engaging with the Minister for housing on that, particularly as regards the planning guidelines and what we expect going forward as regards provision for childcare.
That is very welcome news. If the 78 applicants do not take up the €25 million, I ask the Minister to urgently reopen the scheme. Seven weeks was not a very long window for childcare providers to make applications to the scheme, so I would very much like her to look at reopening it if the money is not all utilised. In addition to that, however, I would very much appreciate it if the Minister looked for additional funding. We really need to prioritise areas like mine - Skerries, Balbriggan, Rush and Lusk - and do everything we can to provide more childcare facilities in these areas. We are not just doing families, women and parents a disservice; it is also a loss to the Irish economy. Female participation over the past 40 years has really driven the success of the Irish economy. Our best resource is our highly educated women and men. If we do not have childcare for them, we are failing ourselves as an economy, as well as parents and children who are unbelievably stressed by not having access to childcare.
To be fair, the Deputy has put it very eloquently and succinctly. Access to childcare and early learning opportunities is hugely important, and the Government recognises that. As regards our commitment, the present building blocks extension scheme money is required to be spent in this calendar year, and the Department does not currently have any further funding available for additional capital schemes this year. However, the approach to capital investment in future years is being considered within the context of the programme for Government commitments, and they are considerable when it comes to this area. For the first time, the programme for Government also contains a commitment to public provision and to capital investment to build or purchase State-owned facilities. Some early work is being carried out to explore options to introduce a segment of public provision. This will require significantly detailed policy development and design in order to progress and implement this programme. The programme for Government commitments will inform the Department's contribution to the upcoming review of the national development plan, which will set out capital allocations for future years also.
95. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of community disability network teams across the country which are fully staffed and the number which are not. [20957/25]
In recent days I have received significant information that there is an independent review of the children's disability network team service model. It has been obvious to most people that this system is completely broken around the country. Will the Minister today confirm to the Dáil that the entire CDNT service model is being independently reviewed?
As I stated to Deputy Ó Murchú, the CDNTs workforce survey was conducted last October. That captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades, providing a snapshot of the current workforce across the 93 teams. The 2024 CDNT workforce report is based on the outputs of the survey.
The published report shows that all six regional health areas were carrying vacancies at mid-October. There is a wide disparity in vacancy levels across the country, with the highest levels in Dublin and the south-east region and the lowest levels in the mid-west region. Separately, the HSE has advised me that the majority of CDNTs are currently carrying vacancies, with four teams having no vacancies at present.
The HSE is using the data from that report to support focused recruitment and retention initiatives in the areas with the highest vacancy rates, taking learning and related actions from areas with lower levels of vacancies.
While the vacancy rate remains high, the CDNT workforce increased by 17% in 2024 when compared with 2023 and the CDNT vacancy rate reduced from 29% to 22%.
As the Deputy knows, in budget 2025, my Department secured €2.84 million in new development measure funding to provide an additional 40 health and social care professionals, comprising 20 senior and 20 staff grade therapists, 20 therapy assistants and 15 clinical psychology trainee placements.
A dedicated disability workforce strategy will be developed this year to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges. Also, under the disability action plan, we have the progressing disability services roadmap, and that sets out measures designed to attract and retain staff in CDNTs. I can outline those later.
My information indicates that the independent review has been commenced by the National Disability Authority. The Minister of State might confirm in her answer if that is the case. The figures I have seen as to what is happening in the CDNTs are absolutely shocking. They are unbelievable. In 2023 there were 817 vacancies in CDNTs across the country. In CHO 1 there has been a drop-off of 22% in therapy hours in the space of a year. Some 44% of CDNT posts in the HSE are vacant at the moment. Some 43% of psychologist posts are vacant at the moment, 62% in CHO 1 and 59% in CHO 5. That is a failure on a monumental scale when we see that the majority of those posts are empty. In my constituency I have seen children waiting for 14 months to get onto CDNTs and some cases where children are being bounced between CAMHS, CDNTs and therapy services without ever ending up on a waiting list at all. The Minister of State has to agree that this is outrageous.
I agree that far more needs to be done as regards retention and recruitment within the CDNTs. That is an absolute priority for my Department. We have under the disability action plan and the progressing disability services roadmap set out measures. I will outline a few briefly. We are supporting practice education in CDNTs. We are supporting student sponsorship programmes. There is an initiative whereby four years' salary is now paid to new graduates over five years to support them in taking a gap year in year 5. We are also developing apprenticeship programmes.
The HSE is driving a number of initiatives to address the CDNT vacancy rate. That includes intensive recruitment efforts across the HSE and section 38 and section 39 organisations. Also, we are engaging with secondary schools and higher education institutions to expose more students to the rewarding and impactful work within CDNTs and within the disability sector overall.
Seven of the disciplines required for working within the CDNTs are included on the critical skills occupations list in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as well.
I indicated the massive figures of absences and vacancies in the sector but I want to drill down to what this means for an individual child. I have been contacted by a constituent who is a foster mother of a child. She has worked tirelessly to help her young boy. The boy presents with significant complex behavioural problems and has been expelled from two preschools and four times already from primary schools. He is currently on reduced school hours because of the situation and he is falling back in his education massively. Despite urgent GP referrals to CAMHS, he is facing a 14- to 18-month wait for an initial assessment. In the meantime, his condition is deteriorating and his education is severely disrupted. Referrals to speech and language therapy and other services have yielded nothing but long waiting times, and his GP believes he needs immediate interventionist care. The foster mother, who is doing her utmost for this child, has contacted Tusla, CAMHS, disability services, social workers, private psychologists - everywhere she turns she meets delays. That is what those absences, those massive levels of vacancies, mean to an individual child.
We will go to Deputy Ó Murchú for a supplementary question.
I will restate the question I asked earlier. We all know there is a huge amount of vacancy. Even if there have been improvements, when this workforce report was carried out there were, I think, 529.72 whole-time equivalent positions. We need to really ensure that is dealt with. Even if we fill those positions, though, does that mean we have a CDNT system that is actually able to deliver for those who require the assessments and then the therapies? The therapies are meant to follow but we know they do not at the moment.
There are also a huge number of schools saying they do not know where to put kids until they get an assessment. This is a huge issue across the board and unfortunately I feel like a broken record in here constantly repeating the same questions, but we need to get to a better place.
I take both Deputies' points on board and it is an absolute priority. I came from having responsibility for special education and the Minister, Deputy Foley, was Minister for Education. We are now in the Department with responsibility for disability. We have a very clear picture of the need for more therapies, access to therapies and access to assessments. That is at the forefront of the work we are doing. We have a Cabinet committee on disability. Therapy in schools was mentioned. We are going to roll out that pilot to all special schools and eventually into all special classes in mainstream schools as well. That will help with children getting access to those therapies. In the communities with the CDNTs we want that multidisciplinary approach whereby children, if they need to get access to a dietician, physio or whatever, will have access to those therapies. My door is open if there are suggestions about recruitment. We are looking at therapy assistants-----
It is pay, terms and conditions.
We are looking at pay and terms and conditions. That is under way as well, as the Deputy knows. We are looking at absolutely everything. There is our national disability strategy. That will not be just the Department with responsibility for disability but every single Government Department having disability in their brief. I will be publishing that strategy before the summer recess and that is going to feed into this as well. I absolutely agree with what the Deputies have said. It is an absolute priority of mine as the Minister of State with responsibility for disability sitting at the Cabinet table. My door is open for suggestions as well, if the Deputies have any.
97. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps being taken to develop a career path in the childcare sector in view of the staff turnover rates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20433/25]
I ask about the steps being taken to develop a career path in the childcare sector in view of the high staff turnover rate and whether the Minister will make a statement on the matter.
I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge many early learning and childcare services report recruitment and retention challenges. In general, these challenges are not caused by insufficient supply of qualified staff, but by high levels of turnover. The most recent annual early years sector profile survey shows staff turnover is at 24.5%. It is estimated that one third of staff leaving services are doing so to move to another service. Staff turnover is linked to pay and working conditions. However, the State is not an employer of staff and neither I nor my Department set pay or working conditions.
The joint labour committee process is the formal mechanism by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates for the sector. Outcomes from the joint labour committee process are supported by Government through core funding, which has seen its allocation increase from €259 million in year 1 to €350 million for the coming programme year 2025-26. An additional €45 million, which I referenced earlier, has been ring-fenced in the coming programme year to support employers to meet the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay conditional on updated employment regulation orders.
Staff in this sector play a key role in supporting children’s development and well-being, working in partnership with families. Recognising their central importance for the quality of provision, my Department continues to deliver on the workforce plan for the sector, Nurturing Skills. Nurturing Skills aims to support the professional development of the workforce and sets out plans to raise the profile of careers in the sector, establish role profiles, career pathways, qualification requirements, along with leadership development opportunities. To support the development of career pathways, the role profiles of educator, lead educator and manager, which were set out in Nurturing Skills, were given legal meaning when used as the basis for the employment regulations orders for the sector. These orders now embed a career structure by setting different rates of pay for the different roles. Further developing career pathways, both Nurturing Skills and Equal Start identify special posts of responsibility and other measures.
We heard earlier that 30% of childcare managers are struggling to find new staff. Would she consider adding childcare to the critical skills list, which would make it easier for that sector to attract skilled and qualified personnel, especially, of course, from countries outside the European Economic Area such as New Zealand, Brazil and Australia? Skilled people from these countries, obviously with the appropriate qualifications, would then qualify.
The Minister mentioned staff turnover of 24.5% with a third of those going to other jobs within the sector. That means two thirds are going elsewhere. While the Government is not an employer, it is the policymaker in this area. Would we consider a long-term sustainable career path for childcare staff with market-rate pay as a policy, some sort of a pay scale and ongoing training and career development in particular? That is quite important when it comes to retaining these people, especially graduates.
The key issue that has been identified across the sector with retention of staff is the financial rewards they get to do the work they do. These are professionals who deserve to be paid at the rate they should be paid. It is for that reason there is a ring-fenced €45 million being made available. I accept the independence of the joint labour committee but I am saying €45 million is available and I would like to see it being used to the maximum for the workers so they would be suitably paid.
