Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 December 2023
145. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the annual first and full-year cost total to pay the wages of all childcare staff over five years, in tabular form, including PRSI and USC at current ERO levels. [53964/23]
View answerProviders of early learning and care and school-age childcare are private businesses. As the State does not employ staff in ELC and SAC services, neither I nor my Department can set wage levels or determine working conditions for staff in the sector.
However, based on data available to My Department, if all staff wages were included (including wages for ancillary staff) it is estimated the total annual cost of wages would be €863 million per year, of which €815m relates to directly employed staff and €48m to staff whose wages are paid through State employment and training schemes. Excluding ancillary staff who do not work directly with children, the figure would be €760m (rather than €815m). These figures do not take into account the income currently received by those working in the sector who are self-employed and who derive their income from profits rather than wages.
To extrapolate the €815m figure for total employee wages (including ancillary staff who are employees) across a 5 year horizon, an average staff number growth rate of 3% (based on recent trends in staffing numbers as published in the Annual Early Years Sector Profile) was applied.
Year 2 estimated total cost: €840 million
Year 3 estimated total cost: €865 million
Year 4 estimated total cost: €890 million
Year 5 estimated total cost: €917 million
The following should be noted, in relation to the above:
• The cost estimates are based on staff who had an hourly wage recorded in service providers’ submissions for Core Funding, but the Core Funding data has been extrapolated to provide an estimate for all staff working in the sector.
