Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 February 2021
137. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which he can prioritise for funding the childcare sector given the pressure generated by the Covid-19 crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6296/21]
View answer156. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which childcare and the growing need for such facilities remains a priority for Government given the ongoing threat by Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6327/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 137 and 156 together.
A key policy objective of my Department is to improve affordability, accessibility and quality of Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC). A 117% increase in investment over the last number of years has led to a doubling in the number of children receiving free or subsidised early learning and care and school-age childcare. It has also supported the sector to increase the number of places available – by up to 60 percent.
First 5, the ten-year whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families pledges to build on this progress. Among key strategic actions in First 5 is a commitment to 'maintain and extend the supply of high-quality publicly subsidised ELC and SAC to best serve the developmental needs of babies and young children, ensuring that it also reflects the needs and preferences of parents and families'.
To deliver on this strategic action, a range of actions are under way, including an update of the National Planning Guidelines for the development of early learning and care and school-age childcare settings, the extension of regulation to all paid, non-relative childminders on a phased basis and the development of a strategic capital investment plan to deliver large-scale capital investment under Project 2040. The development of a new funding model for EELC and SAC also seeks to address issues of accessibility.
There is also a commitment to strengthen capacity to accurately forecast supply and demand for early learning and care and school-age childcare. Supply of, and demand for, early learning and care and school-age childcare places is currently monitored annually through the Early Years Sector Profile. This survey is conducted by Pobal on behalf of the Department.
More information can be found at first5.gov.ie and at first5fundingmodel.gov.ie
My Department has also introduced a range of funding measures to support the sector in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the sector.
Government decided on January 6 to implement Level 5 restrictions in order to reduce movement in the population, suspending the ECCE programme until 1 February, now extended to 5 March. In order to support the ELC and SAC sector up to 5 March, the Department has announced a range of new funding measures.
The new funding arrangements are as follows:
- Services open during this period will continue to receive 70% of the value of ECCE programme funding and 100% of funding provided under other Department schemes (i.e. the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), the Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP), and the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM)) These services can also receive the additional 30% of ECCE Programme funding if they commit to certain conditions that include waiving fees for parents not using the service and retaining staff where possible.
- Services closed during this period, where the closure is approved by the Department, will receive 70% of the value of ECCE programme funding and 100% of funding provided under other Department schemes (i.e. NCS, CCSP, and AIM). This funding will be conditional on a commitment to waive fees for parents and retain staff where possible.
- A newly designed Covid-19 Support Payment has been put in place to support providers with a significant reliance on parental fee income to waive fees during this period while remaining sustainable.
- My Department estimates that the overwhelming majority of providers will be sustainable with these measures. For the small numbers where there are particular challenges, the Sustainability Fund will open a new strand of funding tailored to the present arrangements.
Central to the funding arrangements is the enhanced EWSS, which early learning and childcare providers continue to be eligible to access without having to demonstrate reduction in turnover as other employers do. The enhanced EWSS is estimated to cover 80% of payroll costs or 50% of the full operating costs of the average service.
Officials in my Department continue to monitor supply and demand in partnership with the CCCs during COVID-19. Services experiencing difficulty are asked to contact their local CCCs for support. This support can include help with applying staff ratios, fee setting, addressing cash flow difficulties, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.
The Department’s COVID-19 guidance in full can be found at first5.gov.ie/guidance
