Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
1109. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he will take to ensure that the Stakeholder Response Team (SRT) will work with services in the local area, such as the CCCs, to source alternative places for children when child care closures are unavoidable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11814/24]
View answer1112. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a child care setting has confirmed with Pobal that it is to close, this will trigger a response from a Stakeholder Response Team (SRT); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11817/24]
View answer1113. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he will take to ensure that when child care settings are at risk of closures, the Stakeholder Response Team (SRT) will work with a range of local agencies and others to devise a sustainable plan for the setting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11818/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1109, 1112 and 1113 together.
Tusla, the independent statutory regulator for early years services, including ELC and SAC services, is responsible for maintaining the register of services under the Child Care Act 1991. Where an ELC or SAC service ceases operations, the registered provider is required by law to advise Tusla of this and the service will then be removed from the public register. Tusla provides my Department with the verified closure figures a month in arrears, to allow time for verification.
Data from Tusla on service registrations shows that the number of services that closed in 2023 are lower than previous years. At end 2023, there were 86 new registrations of ELC services and 115 closures. This compares with 83 new registrations and 141 closures in the same period in 2022.
At end 2023, there were 210 new standalone SAC services that have registered with Tusla and 52 standalone SAC services that have closed. In 2022, 130 new standalone SAC services were registered with Tusla while 42 standalone SAC services closed.
A table on ELC and standalone SAC closures and new services (below) covers the period Jan 2019 to Jan 2024.
There is considerable diversity in the reasons given for closure by providers. While some services have closed for financial reasons, many have closed for other reasons (e.g. retirement of the owner/manager, property related, availability of staff, and reduction in child numbers). To note the reasons for closure are not verified by Tusla and are self-reported.
My Department has a range of supports in place to avert closures, or assess closures of services – similar to the work of the Stakeholder Response Team, which was proposed by Early Childhood Ireland in their recent publication.
Through Case Management, City/County Childcare Committees and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to early learning and childcare services experiencing difficulties. This support focuses on operational as well as financial supports to assist services to manage their immediate difficulties and transition to a more sustainable model of delivery.
Where services close, City/County Childcare Committees have successfully supported the reopening of closed services. In the event of closures, City/County Childcare Committees also assist parents with sourcing alternative early learning and childcare places where possible.
A new Supply Management Unit was established in my Department in January 2024. This new Unit includes an Early Learning and Childcare Supply Management Advisor and Coordinator on secondment from Dublin City and Wicklow Childcare Committees. A key part of the Supply Management Unit’s remit will be to develop a planning function, for monitoring, analysing and forecasting of investment needs, in line with a recommendation of the Expert Group in their Report – Partnership for the Public Good. The development of this function - akin to the Department of Education’s Forward Planning Unit - will be supported by the Data Analytics Units in the Department and a statistician, recently seconded from the CSO, to work in the Early Learning and Childcare Division.
TUSLA REGISTRATION OF SERVICES*
|
2019 |
ELC |
SAC Standalone* |
Total |
|
Total New |
93 |
93 |
|
|
Total Closures |
196 |
196 |
|
|
Net Difference |
-103 |
0 |
-103 |
|
2020 |
ELC |
SAC Standalone |
Total |
|
Total New |
91 |
164 |
255 |
|
Total Closures |
197 |
12 |
209 |
|
Net Difference |
-106 |
152 |
46 |
|
2021 |
ELC |
SAC Standalone |
Total |
|
Total New |
65 |
142 |
207 |
|
Total Closures |
141 |
15 |
156 |
|
Net Difference |
-76 |
127 |
51 |
|
2022 |
ELC |
SAC Standalone |
Total |
|
Total New |
83 |
130 |
213 |
|
Total Closures |
141 |
42 |
183 |
|
Net Difference |
-58 |
88 |
30 |
|
2023 |
ELC |
SAC Standalone |
Total |
|
Total New |
86 |
210 |
296 |
|
Total Closures |
115 |
52 |
167 |
|
Net Difference |
-29 |
158 |
129 |
|
2024 (January only) |
ELC |
SAC Standalone |
Total |
|
Total New |
7 |
12 |
19 |
|
Total Closures |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
Net Difference |
6 |
10 |
16 |
* Registration of SAC Services only commenced in 2020
