Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2023
519. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to clarify the steps he has taken to prevent further strike action from members of an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42240/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI expressed my disappointment that the FECP chose to pursue the action of requesting early learning and childcare providers to close from 26-28 September. I understand the FECP was the only representative organisation supporting this action.
The three day closure of services was unwarranted at a time when investment by the State in early learning and childcare is at an all-time high, having increased by 60% in the last two years alone and with a clear Government commitment that it will continue to increase.
The FECP in a recent report identified a range of demands, including an increase in investment, an increase in ECCE capitation to €100 per child per week, a lifting of fee management conditions that are in place and the introduction of optional extras under the ECCE programme.
My position on each of these recommendations is clear:
• There is a commitment to continued investment in early learning and childcare in this upcoming Budget, that will build on the unprecedented increases in public funding for the sector secured in the last number of years, with the First 5 investment target of €1 billion by 2028 exceeded this year – five years ahead of time.
• Through ECCE capitation and Core Funding combined, services receive a minimum of €79.20 per child per week and a maximum of €95.85 with additional funding for graduate lead educators and graduate managers and sessional only services will also receive an additional sessional only flat rate of €4075.
• The €287 million Core Funding scheme allows for substantial increases in the total cost base for the sector, related both to pay and non-pay costs thereby creating the conditions to introduce fee management. It is reasonable and justifiable that on receipt of Core Funding, services must agree not to increase their fees given the level of funding available.
• Introducing scope for additional optional extras or voluntary contributions under the ECCE programme risks parents incurring additional charges for a universal service which is designed and intended to be free at the point of use and available to all families, regardless of ability to pay.
Together for Better brings together three major programmes, the ECCE programme, including the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the NCS and the Core Funding scheme.
The primary purposes of Core Funding is to improve pay and conditions in the sector as a whole and improve affordability for parents as well as ensuring a stable income to all early learning and childcare providers.
For year 1 of the new Core Funding scheme, €259m was made available. For year 2 of this scheme, €287m is being made available. The additional €28 million – equivalent to 11% increase - is being allocated as follows:
• €8.47m for a 3% growth in capacity.
• €6.11m for non-staff overheads.
• €2.2m for administrative staff time.
• €4m for graduate premiums
• €7.22m for new targeted measures aimed at improving the sustainability of sessional services.
To date, 91% or over 4,000 providers have signed up for Core Funding Year 2 with applications still open.
Participation in Core Funding is optional but it is open to all registered providers subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the funding.
Moreover, the overwhelming majority of services benefit substantially from higher funding under Core Funding, supporting their sustainability. The Department, Pobal and the CCCs continue to closely monitor trends concerning services entering case management and will continue to maintain the availability of Sustainability Funding for individual services at risk.
Closure days that are not notified on a services calendar will not be payable. The Pobal Compliance, Audit and Risk team will therefore recoup exchequer funding, on behalf of my Department, from services that protest outside the rules of the schemes that they have signed up to.
The service by protesting and not providing 20 days’ notification of their intention to close and mark an alternative open day is in breach of their contract for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Community Childcare Subvention Plus Saver (CCSP Saver) programme. Under the ECCE Programme, for instance, services that close to protest without calendar notification and without inserting, at the time of notification, an alternative days’ provision will see a financial recoupment if they are found during a compliance visit not to have attendance records for the closure day.
If the Pobal Compliance, Audit and Risk team find a ECCE/CCSP provider not to have calendared a closure and to have no attendance records on a day they appeared open on their calendar then that service will be deemed non-compliant and have their funding recouped. This team conducts c. 1,100 visits to services in a Programme year.
Under the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), services with no attendance on a protest day will be marked as ‘closed’. If the services reaches more than the allowed 10 paid closure days for the programme year under the NCS rules, they will not be paid beyond the 10th day.
This compliance approach emphasises the Department’s view that these unsanctioned protests are not warranted.
