Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 March 2022
60. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his Department’s plans to improve the pay and conditions of professionals in the childcare sector and to help increase the availability of childcare places; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15481/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn this issue of pay and conditions, I firmly believe that the level of pay in the sector should reflect the value of the work that early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners do for children, for families, for society and the economy. The most recent available data indicates the average hourly wage for non-managerial staff in the sector in 2021 was €12.60, with many staff working part-time or on temporary contracts. These data underscore the need for significant improvement in both pay and conditions of employment.
As the Deputy is aware, the State is not the employer, and my Department does not set wage levels nor determine working conditions for staff in the sector. However, I am doing all that is in my power to address the issue.
In particular, I began a process in December 2020 to examine the possibility of regulating pay and conditions and the suitability of a Joint Labour Committee for the sector. This process culminated in the establishment of a Joint Labour Committee, which began meeting in December 2021.
Supported by the new Core Funding stream I announced in Budget 2022, there is now a real prospect of improvement in pay and conditions through the Joint Labour Committee. The scale of allocation under the new Core Funding stream - which is €73.5m in 2022 and equivalent to more than €221m in a full year - will, among a number of objectives, enable providers to meet the conditions that may be set in an Employment Regulation Order.
In addition, in December 2021, I published "Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028", which includes commitments to develop career pathways, promote careers in the sector, and strengthen supports for continuing professional development, which will complement efforts to improve pay and conditions of employment in the sector.
On this issue of capacity, the availability of high-quality early learning and childcare that is affordable and accessible is a key Government priority. To ensure that the supply of early learning and childcare places meets demand, my Department has, since 2015, funded the creation of more than 27,000 new places through an Annual Capital Programme.
Before the onset of Covid-19, national data indicated that, on the whole, supply of early learning and childcare places was meeting demand, with evidence of undersupply for certain age groups including children under 3, and in certain areas.
Data gathered throughout the Covid-19 pandemic revealed lower demand for early learning and childcare, and reduced occupancy among early learning and childcare services. Indeed, data captured in June 2021 found significant vacancy rates across the country – with the national vacancy rate averaging at 21%.
|
National Vacancy Rate By Age (June 2021) |
|
|
Up to 1 year (0-12 months) |
20% |
|
1 year+ to 2 years (13-24 months) |
10% |
|
2 years+ to 3 years (25-36 months) |
17% |
|
3 years+ to 4 years (37-48 months) |
17% |
|
4 years+ to 5 years (49-60 months) Non-School-Going |
12% |
|
4 years+ to 5 years (49-60 months) School-Going |
42% |
|
5 years+ to 6 years (61-72 months) Non-school going |
30% |
|
5 years+ to 6 years (61-72 months) School going |
48% |
|
6 years+ to 8 years (73-96 months) |
37% |
|
8 years+ |
34% |
|
Total |
21% |
My Department is continuing to monitor early learning and childcare capacity, particularly in light of the recent lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.
Pobal has, using the data captured in June 2021 and current registration data, recently projected vacancy rates in February 2022. While this analysis shows a fall in vacancy rates from June 2021 to February 2022 – with vacancy rates falling from 21% to 19%, this analysis suggests that there is unused capacity across the country. Further analysis is being undertaken by Pobal to establish if this unused capacity varies by type of provision or location, to establish the degree of mismatch is supply and demand for certain cohorts or children or in certain areas. Pobal will also commence new data collection in April 2022, as part of the Annual Early Years Sector Profile survey. This will allow for updated information on capacity among early learning and childcare services to be established and will inform the necessary steps to be taken by my Department to address any issue of under supply, in addition to steps already in train.
Existing steps include:
- The new funding model, to roll out in September, which will provide funding for services aligned to costs of delivery so, for example, greater funding will be available to services that cater for younger children where costs of delivery are higher than older children.
- An allocation of €70m under revised National Development Plan (NDP) – with the majority of this funding earmarked for new places.
- An updating of the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings, by my Department in partnership with the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government (DHPLG)
- Proactive engagement of City/County Childcare Committees with early learning and childcare services in areas where there is unmet need for early learning and childcare from families.
