Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
399. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will give urgent consideration to the issues outlined in a national representative organisation concerning childcare funding (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31916/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe report to which the Deputy refers was not provided to me in advance of its publication on 27 June. However, I acknowledge the Deputy’s provision of excerpts from “Voices from the frontlines: Service providers identify key challenges and opportunities for Ireland’s ELC and SAC sector” produced for the Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP) as part of this parliamentary question. The published report was received on 28 June, therefore my reply refers to the specific points referred to the in excerpts provided and to previous correspondence from FECP, received on 16 June, on related matters.
In that correspondence, the FECP called for increases in public funding, changes to the fee freeze and an increase in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) capitation to €120 per child per week. In respect of these issues, I have been very clear:
• Investment in Early Learning and Childcare is already at unprecedented levels, with the Core Funding scheme allocation alone increasing by 11% in year 2 of the scheme to an overall budget of €287m to the sector. I am committed to prioritising further increases in funding as part of the annual Estimates process.
• Fees charged to parents remain high and I am committed to reducing costs for parents through National Childcare Scheme (NCS) subsidies and fee management introduced in September 2022 through Core Funding. Maintaining the fee freeze is entirely appropriate given the substantial additional investment in the sector being made through Core Funding.
• Through ECCE capitation and Core Funding combined, services will receive a minimum weekly capitation of €79.20 per child and a maximum of €95.85 per child, with additional funding for graduate lead educators, graduate managers and for sessional services. There is no clear evidence supporting an increase in capitation to €120 per week, at an overall cost of €210m.
While the large majority of representative groups and individual providers have embraced Core Funding, the FECP has been vocal in its campaign for changes to the scheme from when it was first announced. To respond to concerns raised previously by the FECP, I appointed Frontier Economics to undertake an independent financial review of sessional services. The review began in Q1 2023 and while the final report is outstanding, interim information received by the Department is inconclusive and sector-wide findings are not possible given the small number of services who engaged with the review. Nonetheless, I announced targeted measures worth an additional €7.22 million through Core Funding year 2, to support smaller and sessional services.
My officials and I have regular engagement with the sector on the funding model (and indeed wider issues), principally through the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum, comprised of a number of representative organisations, including the FECP. I am committed to this ongoing engagement and on 26 June I offered to meet with the FECP once I had received their report and have had the opportunity to consider its contents.
With regard to supporting children with additional needs, the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a model of universal and targeted supports designed to ensure that children with additional needs can meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme.
AIM currently operates in tandem with the ECCE programme and as such, provision of AIM supports are directly linked with ECCE programme participation / hours of operation.
One of the commitments within First 5, the Government Strategy for Babies and Children, is to undertake an end-of-year-three evaluation of AIM. That evaluation has now been completed, with the final report due to be published later this year. Subject to evaluation findings and other relevant developments, my officials will be considering enhancements to, and/or expansion of AIM. This could include provision beyond ECCE programme hours of operation to, for example, all early learning and care (ELC) services and all school-age childcare (SAC) services.
In relation to the administrative burden associated with my Department's funded schemes, there are two important developments of note for the upcoming Programme Year. Taking into account the feedback of providers, including those who partook in the ELCSF subgroup, services will only have to complete one online Fee Table and one Parent Statement per family, going forward.
The Parent Statement, which is closely based on the document introduced last year under Core Funding, must be co-signed by the provider and parent/guardian of each family in the service, and kept on file. For providers participating in more than one scheme, this will noticeably reduce administration by taking the place of multiple documents including the NCS parental agreement. This is a substantial improvement for providers, particularly in relation to the NCS, as there will be no need to issue or sign a new Parent Statement if there is an increase in a family’s subsidy or rate.
I acknowledge that many providers report staffing difficulties in relation to recruitment and retention. In general, staffing pressures in the sector are caused not by insufficient supply of qualified personnel, but by high levels of staff turnover, linked to pay and conditions.
However, providers are private businesses. As the State does not employ staff in these services, neither I nor my Department can set wage levels or determine working conditions for staff in the sector.
There is now, through the independent Joint Labour Committee (JLC) process, a formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates for different roles in early learning and childcare services.
On 15 September 2022, two Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Services, negotiated through the JLC, came into effect, providing for minimum hourly rates of pay for various roles in these services.
The Orders are being supported by Core Funding – which has an allocation of €259 million in its first year – to support amongst other things, improvements in staff wages, alongside a commitment to freeze parental fees and support for sustainability of services. As announced in Budget 2023, the Core Funding allocation will increase by €28 million for the second year. I understand that the JLC for Early Years Services is continuing to meet in relation to possible amendments to the Employment Regulation Orders.
I am also committed to addressing other challenges, which may impact on the recruitment and retention of staff in the sector. In December 2021, I published "Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for ELC and SAC, 2022-2028". Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in the sector. One of the five "pillars" of Nurturing Skills comprises commitments aimed at supporting recruitment, retention and diversity in the workforce, and it includes actions to raise the profile of careers in the sector.
The safety and protection of children remains the first priority of Government in early learning and childcare. Central to achieving this is enforcement of regulations, which have children at the heart of their implementation.
In 2022, I made amendments to the Regulations to allow for the streamlining of the re-registration process. This has resulted in a significant reduction in administration for nearly 4,000 services.
In relation to inspection of early years services, my Department is currently working on implementing the actions set out in First 5 and the recommendations of the OECD Country Policy Review in relation to the streamlining of inspection.
In the short term, my Department is working with the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate and the Department of Education Inspectorate to ensure that sectoral inspection activities are streamlined and coordinated to the greatest extent possible, and that the inspection system and its interlinking parts are communicated clearly and effectively to the sector.
With regard to closures, data from Tusla on service registrations shows that the number of services that closed so far in 2023 is lower than the figure from last year for the same period.
At end May 2023, there were 23 closures and 15 new registrations of ELC services for 2023. This compares with 38 closures and 16 new registrations in the same period in 2022. Year on year comparisons are not relevant for SAC services due to registration only commencing recently. There is considerable diversity in the reasons given for closure by providers.
