Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 May 2022
310. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated cost to the State if it were to provide by way of direct payment to childcare providers the money necessary to fund the sector to €13 per hour as the minimum wage for the current level five childcare staff working in the sector. [27082/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am very conscious of the need for significant improvement in pay and working conditions for early years educators and school age childcare practitioners. The level of pay they receive does not reflect the value of the work they do for children, for families and for the wider society and economy. I am also aware that this issue is a sector-wide one and does not solely relate to those working in the sector who hold a level 5 award in early learning and care.
As the State does not employ early years educators and school age childcare practitioners, my Department does not set wage levels or determine working conditions for staff in the sector. The cost estimates below would arise for early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) service providers.
On the basis of 2021 data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile, it can be estimated that the annual cost of raising the wages of all early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners to at least €13 per hour would be approximately €26.2 million. The additional cost to employers for this in terms of other employer costs is estimated to be approximately €5 million, bringing the total cost to €31.1 million.
In relation to the estimates above, the following should be noted:
- The cost estimate only relates to staff who recorded an hourly wage in their response to the 2020/21 Annual Early Years Sector Profile. It does not include any costs that might arise to adjust wages for those who instead report an annual salary or draw profits as owner-managers.
- The cost estimate only relates to staff and managers who work directly with children. It does not include wages for managers who do not work directly with children or wages of ancillary staff.
- The cost estimate is not limited to those staff and managers whose highest level of qualification is Level 5 on the National Framework of Qualifications. It includes the cost of raising the wages of staff with higher qualifications who earn less than €13 per hour.
- The cost estimate is the additional cost of bringing staff from their current wage up to at least €13 per hour.
- The cost estimate does not attempt to look at the potential cost implications for the wages of staff currently earning more than €13 per hour.
- The methodology used in estimating the above costs is based on analysis of the Annual Early Years Sector Profile data and differs from the allocation mechanism for Core Funding, which is based on a service's capacity and not on a service’s individual staff wage rates.
