Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 May 2022
204. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on childcare core funding fee and education requirements (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23574/22]
View answerCore Funding, a new funding stream, begins the transformative change envisaged for the sector under Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare to the benefit of the children, parents, providers, the workforce, the State, and society overall. Core Funding aims to facilitate a new partnership between providers and the State that reflects the importance of ELC and SAC for the public good. This new approach will offer better financial sustainability to providers in the context of this shift to a partnership relationship between providers and the State.
The Government has been strongly supportive of the sector, particularly since the onset of Covid-19. Substantial additional supports have been provided to allow services to operate sustainably throughout the pandemic, acknowledging that there were higher delivery costs and extra practical and financial challenges to be met. One of the objectives of these supports was to ensure that the higher costs were not passed on to parents, either directly or indirectly.
The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) was a special measure that was in place to support employers with the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Between October 2020 and January 2022, the enhanced rate of EWSS equalled €34 million per month for ELC and SAC employers, covering, on average, 80% staff costs or 50% total operating costs. From 1 February 2022, the original two-rate structure of €203 per week and €151.50 per week applied; amounting to €22 million per month for ELC and SAC employers, covering, on average, 50% staff costs or 38% total operating costs. For March and April 2022 the flat rate subsidy of €100 per week applied and the scheme ended on 30 April 2022; this amounted to €11 million per month in the sector, and covered, on average, 25% staff costs or 11% total operating costs.
Between the end of the EWSS and the introduction of Core Funding, a Transition Fund will be in place to support providers. The main conditionality of access to the Transition Fund will be that services do not increase the fees charged to parents above September 2021 levels.
From September 2022, Core Funding will be introduced. Under Core Funding, in return for a commitment that fees to parents will not increase, providers will be supported in meeting their operating costs, including increased costs related to improved quality measures. Fee management will start with the requirement for providers to maintain fees at or below September 2021 levels to access Core Funding. This feature of the scheme will ensure that parents feel the full affordability benefits of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) and the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.
The allocation of funding for Core Funding will be based largely on a service's capacity. By basing the funding stream on capacity, providers will have a stable income source based on the service they deliver. Higher levels of funding will be available for capacity for younger children, to support the higher operating costs for these children arising from the higher staff ratio requirements. The significant majority of ELC and SAC services will see substantial increases in income through Core Funding. It is important to state that no service will lose out because of Core Funding.
The introduction of fee management measures is one of the recommendations contained in the Expert Group report, Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, as approved by Government.
Sustainability Funding also continues to be available to providers where there are sustainability difficulties and I have requested that providers would exhaust this route before considering increases in fees for parents. Providers facing sustainability challenges should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee.
In relation to qualifications and quality, First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families, recognises that the workforce is at the heart of high-quality early learning and care for children. Evidence indicates that children achieve better outcomes when staff are well qualified. First 5 seeks to continue to build an appropriately skilled and sustainable professional workforce, and includes a commitment to achieve a graduate-led workforce by 2028, with the aim that all room leaders, assistant managers and managers would hold a relevant degree by 2028.
Core Funding has a number of objectives, including to support improved quality, affordability, sustainability and the achievement of the commitment to a graduate-led workforce. Of the total of €221m in full year costs for Core Funding, €38 million is allocated to support graduates to be Lead Educators and Managers in ELC or combined ELC and SAC services.
In December last year, I launched Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in early learning and care and school-age childcare.
In particular, Nurturing Skills commits to introducing a minimum qualification requirement for Managers of early learning and care (ELC) services by 2028 of a Level 6 qualification in early learning and care (ELC), with a target of all Managers having a level 7 (or higher) qualification in ELC.
To support achievement of these commitments, Nurturing Skills also commits to the provision of funded places on flexible education programmes at levels 6 to 8 for current early years educators. This new funding will support upskilling and strengthen career development pathways for those working in the sector, reducing the cost to educators of undertaking further and higher education qualifications. The new funding scheme will also develop and introduce mechanisms for providing financial support to early learning and care services to help meet the costs of releasing staff to go on student practice placements and study leave. Plans for the new funding scheme are currently being developed.
This planned new funding for educators and managers to upskill is in addition to financial supports that are currently in place for those undertaking qualifications. Existing financial supports include the Free Fees Initiative. My Department has since 2014 provided a number of rounds of funding for early years educators to undertake qualifications through the Learner Fund.
