James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this very important matter relating to the increase in core funding for ECCE services and, in particular, concerns about Taney Playschool in Dundrum.

Investment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels, with public funding for early learning and childcare for the first time reaching more than €1.1 billion in 2024, a clear demonstration from the Government of the value of the sector. The overwhelming majority of this funding is allocated through Together for Better, the new funding model, which comprises the ECCE programme, including AIM, the NCS and core funding, with a fourth strand, Equal Start, currently under development.

In year 1 of core funding, some €259 million was allocated to services. Some 99% of all services benefited from increased funding, and approximately 1% benefited from a funding guarantee that ensured that no service received less in core funding than it received in the previous funding model. For year 2 of core funding, the overall allocation to the scheme increased by 14% to €287 million. Arising from that, all services will have seen an increase to their core funding allocations due to the increased allocations towards non-staff overheads and administrative staff and time.

In addition, a number of targeted supports for small and sessional services were introduced in order to improve sustainability of these services, specifically a flat-rate top-up of €4,075 for sessional-only services and a minimum base rate allocation of €8,150, which will benefit small, part-time and school-age services. These measures saw the average allocation under core funding for sessional-only services, similar to Taney Playschool, increase by 32% this year.

Core funding will increase again for year three of the scheme, by €44 million, or 15%, to €331 million. This will support the delivery of a range of enhancements to the scheme to support improved affordability and accessibility for families, improved pay and conditions for the workforce and improved sustainability for providers.

Special supports are available from the Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about its viability, accessed through the local city or county childcare committee. This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, financial support for partner services, or more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.

The Minister is aware that the CCC has reached out to this service on two occasions to offer this support. The Minister has asked officials in his Department to advise the CCC to make contact again with the service.