Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2023
553. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth whether his Department has conducted research into the level of unmet need in the childcare sector; if so, the estimated number of children who cannot avail of childcare services due to a lack of available services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42578/23]
View answerThe availability of high quality early learning and childcare is a key Government priority. My Department monitors early learning and childcare capacity on an ongoing basis, with a particular focus on responding to the unmet early learning and childcare needs of families.
My Department engages in a broad range of research, evaluation and data projects to inform the policymaking process, as per First 5: a Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028, and Partnership for the Public Good: a New Funding Model for Early learning and Care and School-Age Childcare. The annual data captured by Pobal on behalf of my Department - through the Early Years Sector Profile Survey - is one important data source that allows us to monitor supply and demand. In addition to this survey data, the Department also relies on data from the register of services held by Tusla, data provided by services as part of their application for Core Funding and has also conducted several surveys with parents. Since 2020, five parent surveys have been undertaken by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of the Department.
The most recent data on availability shows that, on the whole supply for early learning and childcare is meeting demand, though there are pockets of undersupply in certain areas and for certain cohorts of children, in particular for babies and toddlers. Data from the Early Years Sector Profile, gathered in May 2023, indicates that the national vacancy rate was 14% at that time.
Early learning and childcare providers are private entities and, as such, are free to set their own policies, including admissions policies. However, the DCEDIY is taking a number of steps to address issues of undersupply.
A funding scheme was introduced last year - Core Funding – which allocates funding for providers based on the cost of delivery. Under Core Funding, providers delivering early learning and childcare for babies and toddlers attract higher levels of funding, given the higher staffing requirements determined by the regulatory ratios for these children. Though only in operation since September 2022, initial analysis shows that this new funding scheme has given rise to a significant growth in capacity – with capacity growth for cohorts (such as babies and toddlers) and in areas (such as Dublin) where there has been significant pressure on place. Additional funding secured in Budget 2023 for year two of Core Funding provides further opportunity to invest in 3% capacity growth.
In addition, and as part of the design of the Building Blocks Capacity Grant Scheme, officials in my Department have commenced a needs analysis in the Early Learning and Childcare sector. This analysis will look at undersupply by region and age category, which will ensure that my Department can fund additional capacity where it is most needed. I hope to provide more details of these two grant schemes in the coming months.
There is also a network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCC) across the country, who are in a position to match children and families to services operating with vacant places. These CCCs engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.
