Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2022
522. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps that are being taken by his Department to monitor capacity issues in childcare services across the country and to address any issue of under supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28135/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe availability of high-quality early learning and childcare that is affordable and accessible is a key Government priority.
Since 2015, significant increases in State investment in early learning and childcare has given rise to a substantial growth in the numbers of children participating in these services. More than 100,000 children now participate on the universal pre-school programme on an annual basis and the National Childcare Scheme subsidises up to 80,000 children.
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, with a particular focus on monitoring Covid-19 impacts as public health restrictions have been lifted and on responding to the unmet early learning and childcare needs of families.
In April this year, City/County Childcare Committee collected data on capacity in early learning and childcare services nationally and in May, the Annual Early Years Sector Profile survey was undertaken by Pobal, gathering updated information on enrolments, waiting lists and capacity.
In addition to these efforts to monitor capacity issues across the country, my Department is planning a range of steps to address any issue of under supply. A new funding model, to roll out in September, 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. Some €70m has been allocated to my Department through the revised National Development Plan (NDP) – with the majority of this funding earmarked for new places. Another important step being taken by my Department, in partnership with the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government (DHPLG), is to update the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings. In addition, CCC are currently proactively engaging with early learning and childcare services to identify unused capacity and explore the potential for services in increase capacity where there is evidence of unmet early learning and childcare needs of families.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) for assistance. Contact details for CCCs may be found on www.myccc.ie .
