Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 December 2022
189. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the level of core funding provided to childcare providers in each county in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62500/22]
View answerOn 15th September, I launched Together for Better, the new funding model for early learning and childcare. This new funding model supports the delivery of early learning and childcare for the public good, for quality and affordability for children, parents and families as well as stability and sustainability for providers. Together for Better brings together three major programmes, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, including the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) and the new Core Funding scheme, with a fourth programme - Tackling Disadvantage - under development.
I am delighted that, to date, over 4,100 providers, 94% of services, have signed up to Core Funding and agreed to deliver their services accepting the new public management requirements of this scheme.
Interim Funding was in place to bridge the gap between the end of the Transition Fund (August 31) and the introduction of Core Funding (September 15). This enabled a smooth transition from one scheme to the other once the Employment Regulation Orders EROs) were in effect.
Core Funding has a budget of €259 million in full year costs for year 1 of the programme (September 2022-August 2023) to start the partnership for the public good between the State and providers.
The significant allocation on offer through Core Funding in year 1 is conditional on a fee freeze, support for new wage rates through the EROs and financial and operational transparency. These are central objectives of Core Funding - ensuring the substantial additional investment in the sector delivers for parents and for workers and allows the State to be assured that its funding is being spent appropriately.
The combined value of Core Funding, including Interim Funding, payments that have been made as of 12th December and payments that will issue by the end of 2022 by county are listed below in tabular format.
|
County |
Payments in 2022 |
|
Carlow |
€983,895.48 |
|
Cavan |
€1,514,032.14 |
|
Clare |
€1,811,960.93 |
|
Cork |
€7,771,712.71 |
|
Donegal |
€2,867,422.15 |
|
Dublin |
€23,880,623.83 |
|
Galway |
€5,306,120.55 |
|
Kerry |
€2,439,886.42 |
|
Kildare |
€4,250,254.69 |
|
Kilkenny |
€1,623,219.57 |
|
Laois |
€1,652,590.69 |
|
Leitrim |
€524,854.14 |
|
Limerick |
€3,560,916.38 |
|
Longford |
€688,393.30 |
|
Louth |
€1,837,803.98 |
|
Mayo |
€1,569,888.72 |
|
Meath |
€3,323,372.51 |
|
Monaghan |
€1,762,148.79 |
|
Offaly |
€905,200.82 |
|
Roscommon |
€1,008,678.79 |
|
Sligo |
€1,360,913.39 |
|
Tipperary |
€3,066,821.52 |
|
Waterford |
€1,855,222.38 |
|
Westmeath |
€1,427,871.59 |
|
Wexford |
€2,291,871.18 |
|
Wicklow |
€2,448,482.70 |
|
Grand Total |
€81,734,159.35 |
A full list of participating Partner Services by county can be found at first5fundingmodel.gov.ie/together-for-better/.
Core Funding is a very significant new injection of funding into the sector and I have secured an increase of €28 million in the Core Funding envelope for year two of operation (September 2023-August 2024). Approximately, €4 million of the additional funding for Year 2 will achieve the removal of the 3-year experience rule for graduate premiums, with an additional €24 million earmarked for other developments to the Scheme, informed by the emerging data from Year 1 of operation. Further interrogation of the new Core Funding application data is required in order to most effectively design developments in Year 2 of the scheme. Developments may focus on promoting further capacity expansion, investing more in the base rate or to taking more targeted initiatives to invest in specific parts of the sector.
Budget 2023 allocates €1.025 billion to early learning and childcare – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector. Together for Better aims to transform the sector and I am committed to working with Partner Services delivering early learning and childcare for the public good.
