Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
453. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of an increase in providers leaving the core funding model; the steps his Department is taking on this issue; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this move equates to higher charges for parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9219/24]
View answerCore Funding is in operation since 15 September 2022 and has achieved very significant success in terms of the high levels of participation. 95% of providers participated in year 1 of the scheme and to date, 94% or over 4,300 providers have signed up for Core Funding Year 2, with applications still open. There are more providers in absolute terms participating in the Scheme this year.
These figures reflect greater engagement with the Scheme this year and numbers continue to grow. My Department is pleased with this high level of engagement and while my Department cannot mandate providers to participate in the Scheme, every effort has been made to carefully design the Scheme to achieve high levels of participation by providers.
Core Funding has increased by 11% to reach €287 million for year 2 of the Scheme, providing a sustainable platform for investment with increases for all services.
According to recent data provided by Pobal, in their role as scheme administrator, 15 services/providers withdrew in total from Core Funding, however, 12 of these services with activated contracts for Core Funding 2023/2024 withdrew before the start of the programme, therefore only 3 services have withdrawn during the programme year to date.
In Core Funding Programme Year 1, 1 service withdrew from the Scheme.
The above figures account for services who had an active contract during the relevant programme call (i.e. between 14th September 2022 – 31st August 2023 for year 1, 1st September 2023 – present for year 2) and have an application status of withdrawn – meaning they withdrew from the scheme and remained open.
It is a matter for providers to decide whether they wish to withdraw from Core Funding, the significant financial supports it offers to providers and the certainty it provides to parents through the associated fee freeze. However, I am confident that given the level of investment and associated supports, services should not need to take this step.
Special supports are available from my Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, accessed through local City or County Childcare Committees (CCC). This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, financial support for services, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.
I strongly encourage services to avail of these case management supports as an alternative to withdrawing from Core Funding and removing the benefits of Core Funding to parents.
