Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 July 2021
95. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of his Department’s expert group on a new funding model for childcare in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36785/21]
View answerFirst 5commits to at least doubling investment in Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare (ELC and SAC) between 2018 and 2028 and a new funding model will be a key vehicle to ensure that such significant additional investment delivers for children, families and the State.
An Expert Group was established in September 2019 to develop a new funding model for ELC and SAC. The Expert Group is tasked with examining the current model of funding, its effectiveness in delivering quality, affordable, sustainable and inclusive services and considering how additional resourcing can be delivered for the sector to achieve these objectives, drawing on international practice in this area. The Group has met seventeen times to date, and will continue to meet in the coming months.
A report on the Group’s recommendations is expected to be submitted to me in November 2021 for consideration before submission to wider Government. I anticipate that the Group’s recommendations will contribute to informing the Budget 2022 process and my officials are already engaged in that process.
The development of the new funding model is supported by a significant programme of research, delivered by a research partner, Frontier Economics. They have produced and published eight working papers, which provide a foundation from which international comparisons and lessons can be drawn that will be of value for the development of the new funding model. The suite of papers cover international comparisons of fees, wages and funding models; working conditions for staff; fee control mechanisms; supporting quality provision; shared governance and collaboration models; and tackling disadvantage in ELC/SAC.
The new funding model is a major reform project impacting at all levels of the ELC and SAC sector. This sector directly influences the day-to-day lives, and futures, of approximately 200,000 children and their families and is important strategically and economically. It is a large and diverse sector in terms of the nature of services provided, the range of views on the purpose of those services, and the role of the State and public investment. For the new funding model to be successful in implementation, the development process is meaningfully engaging with the perspectives of various groups that have a role and an interest in the sector and is seeking, insofar as possible, to build a shared understanding and common purpose.
With this in mind, the Expert Group is undertaking consultation and engagement with stakeholders to inform its work. Phase 1 of this consultation and engagement took place between August and December 2020, comprising a call for submissions, a parental poll, two webinars and focused discussions with providers, practitioners and parents. Phase 2 is now complete, and involved a series of facilitated events that brought together a broad range of participants to engage deeply in the conversation about how the various issues of affordability, sustainability, quality and inclusion interact and how the new funding model can best support these objectives. Phase 3 is taking place in July. The outputs from this process will inform the Expert Group's final report.
Material relating to the work of the Expert Group, including reports from Phase 1 consultation and engagement, meeting documentation and research papers are available on a dedicated website, www.first5fundingmodel.ie.
