Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 September 2021
160. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the engagement his Department has had with member and sector workers in relation to a campaign by a union (details supplied); and the way his Department plans to respond appropriately to the crisis in the early childhood care and education sector. [46979/21]
View answerI meet with representatives of the early learning and care (ELC) and school age childcare (SAC) sector on a regular basis, and I have had a number of meetings in relation to the Big Start campaign.
On working conditions and staffing, the campaign highlights the low wages of those who work in ELC and SAC services. I firmly believe that their level of pay does not reflect the value of the work they do for children, for families and for the wider society and economy. It also contributes to challenges of recruitment and retention of staff, which are key to the consistency of care provided to children.
As the State is not the employer, the Deputy will appreciate that my Department does not set wage levels nor determine working conditions for staff working in the sector. My Department has, however, over a number of years provided a range of supports to service providers to enable them to improve wages and working conditions. However, wages in the sector remain too low and I will continue to work with the sector to improve this situation.
In December 2020, working in partnership with SIPTU and CSI/IBEC, I began a short process in which interested parties were invited to discuss how best to address issues of pay and conditions in the sector and how a Joint Labour Committee (JLC) might support this. In agreement with IBEC/Childhood Services Ireland, and SIPTU, I appointed Dr Kevin Duffy, former Chair of the Labour Court, to be the independent chair of this process.
On foot of Dr Duffy’s report, on 11 March I wrote to the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, recommending the establishment of a JLC for the sector. In line with the provisions of the Industrial Relations Acts, the Labour Court recommended establishment of a JLC, and Minister English accepted the Labour Court’s recommendations. The Establishment Order came into effect at the beginning of July. The JLC will provide an opportunity for unions and employer representatives to work together to determine wages and working conditions for ELC and SAC.
The Big Start campaign also highlights issues of affordability and of the level of public investment in the sector. First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families, commits to at least doubling investment in ELC and SAC in the decade to 2028. A key vehicle to ensure that such significant additional investment delivers for children, families and the State will be a new funding model. The new funding model will be the framework for additional investment in services in return for clear evidence of quality and affordability to ensure effective use of public funding.
An Expert Group has been leading the work on developing this new funding model since 2019. The Group is independently chaired and includes national and international experts in ELC and SAC systems, funding, quality, economics, and relevant policy experts from the Government Departments who will be involved in implementing the new funding model. They have met eighteen times to date and it is expected that their report will be submitted in November 2021. It is anticipated that the Expert Group’s work will inform the Budget 2022 process and my officials are already engaged in this.
