Ms Michele Akerlind:

My name is Michele Akerlind and I am the co-founder of Cheeky Cherubs in Cork. We have three centres: one in Bishopstown, one in Ballincollig, and a workplace crèche in Cork City Council. When my business partner, Sarah, and I opened the doors of Cheeky Cherubs in 2005, we made a conscious decision to employ only qualified staff. Ten years on, we have a highly motivated and dedicated team, with 18 out of our 30 practitioners having either a level 7 or a level 8 degree and the remainder having level 6. We have our level 4 Síolta accreditation quality mark, and all members of our team are trained in the methodologies of HighScope, Reggio Emilia, the Tuscan approach and Aistear.

As a private provider, I wear two hats at all times and all decisions are made with both hats on. My first hat is as an owner and provider of high-quality care to children and families and liaison officer to all the bodies. I interface with Tusla, the preschool inspectorate, environment health officers, Pobal, Better Start and the Department of Education and Skills. My second hat is as an employer who must have the funds for payroll, dealing and negotiating with financial institutions, the constant tweaking of business plans and the massive stress that comes with that. I am also a HR manager. I do not know any other educational body that is a provider and an employer. We also have inspections from NERA, the Revenue Commissioners and other employment and business authorities.

By not funding this sector properly, we have provided that every individual takes his or her own path. Some will take the quality route, but others will not, or cannot, due to critical financial constraints. A vast discrepancy needs to be addressed to streamline quality. Only quality counts for children, but quality costs employers like me. We use our integrity and are very proud of the quality experience that children receive in our care. The perception in the public domain is that we are earning an absolute fortune. I get that and I understand why there is that perception. We, as a private provider, are also an SME. We are ten years in business with a waiting list as long as my arm. We also have ten years' academic research behind us; we are the success story. Why should we not have a healthy bank balance? Sarah, myself and our partners jumped off a cliff together. We work for ourselves to make a difference in a sector that we are passionate about and to earn a good living. We should have been rewarded for those risks, but if I had opened a café ten years ago, my bank balance would be a hell of a lot better.

The capital allowances have helped keep our heads above water, but they ran out in 2014, and this year will be a game changer for us, personally, financially and professionally. The advice of our financial advisers is to cut costs, not to hire such qualified staff, to reduce wages, and to cut back on non-contact time, continuing professional development and many other resources. That is what advisers say when a company is struggling, not when it is thriving, and there have been many weeks that Sarah and I have not taken home a wage. I am one of the only people here who is not getting paid for my time. No one picked up my hotel tab last night and no one is paying my mileage and expenses. I am sure no one would swap jobs with me based on terms and conditions and recognition and rewards.

Ireland is well known for its highly skilled teaching profession. They are well up there with their European counterparts and many have come into this House. Why are we nearly at the bottom of the European table when it comes to early years investment? Why do the UK and our European neighbours get it and we do not? Why are we putting our children at such a disadvantage when it comes to competing for jobs in the European market in years to come?

Cheeky Cherubs has played its part but we have been let down. We have huge mortgages and have not received any support or investment to date. We are solely a private enterprise yet it appears perfectly acceptable to knock on our doors and have layers of inspection. I have no issue with an inspection. I have an issue with the excess layers of inspections. Excess layers of inspection will not enhance or drive quality. Instead it will create a distrust and a lack of respect for the sector. We have no early years qualified inspector because the current inspectors are public health nurses. I do not think the nursing profession would take kindly to an early years professional and educator inspecting them.

We pay a rates bill on time every year which has a direct impact on our team not receiving decent pay rises and recognition for their work. This year our rates bill is just over €13,000. I have been informed that I cannot be exempt from paying it as I am not an educational institution which are the deciding authority's words and not mine.

I am tired of listening to comparisons between us and our European counterparts. The curriculum in place in our centres is just as good as the curriculum in places like the Nordic countries and the UK, which have come up the ranks. Their Governments see the value in what they do and invest in them but the Irish Government will not invest in me. It is embarrassing when one says one works in the early years sector. There are no pats on the back for the difference we make to the lives of young children. Often there is a snigger or eye-rolling for working as a glorified babysitter. How much do members pay their babysitters? I suspect it is more than a level 7 or 8 early years practitioner earns. Some people take the view that we only care for children so where is the value in that. We expect to be valued as a profession but we are not at present.

Our staff rates vary from €9.50 to €15 per hour, which includes a director's salary. Many of our practitioners cannot secure car loans or mortgages. I am always deeply frustrated and saddened when I complete the paperwork for members of my team. It is not unusual for a staff member to work 40 hours week yet to need a second job in order to make ends meet.

Children are not born on their third birthday and investment needs to happen much earlier in a child's life. The ECCE scheme benefits children and their families but not Cheeky Cherubs. Unfortunately, there is no funding for the provider. The scheme fails to support working families who work 48 weeks in the year and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. I shall outline interesting statistics on UCC graduates who qualified last year. As much as 42% of graduates went into primary teaching, 23% went into the early years sector and 35% did not pursue work in either sector.

Last week I spoke to a lecturer in UCC who posed the following questions in a lecture theatre. She asked for a show of hands by people who would go directly into the early years sector and 27% of those present said they were. She then asked how many people would go into the early years sector if they were recognised like the primary sector and had the same status and pay. The result was 83%. Those findings speak volumes.

Tax credits will not work and will not ensure quality. Instead, investment needs to be provided to services that have proved themselves by investing time and money in their team and the children in their care which are services like ours. Additional needs for children are not met and this puts the team and centres under huge pressure. The Government must step in and provide support to children with additional needs. Early intervention works but it costs.

There needs to be planning for sustainability and included in these plans a focus, not just on the child, but on the practitioner. Cheeky Cherubs has proven that by hiring qualified and motivated individuals and supporting them in the workplace with non-contact time, continuous professional development, enhanced annual leave and permanent contracts one can then do the real work of supporting the welfare and education of young children. If the Government can find moneys for inquiries and tribunals then it can find money for the early years sector.

The good news is that Cheeky Cherubs has an Irish model that is comprised of ten years' academic and hands-on research. We have the tools and the training to drive quality and to motivate a team. We have the whole package. Like any other SME that pays its bills and taxes, the State will need to invest in us or our expertise will be lost.