Ms Marie Daly:

I am CEO of the Crann Support Group and the chair of the national community childcare forum. Crann Support Group is a community voluntary organisation working to improve and enhance the governance and operations of community childcare organisations through the provision of shared business services. Crann Support Group is responsible for the administration of in excess of €7 million and maintains assets to the value of €5.6 million.

Crann works within the principles of community development. We believe that by working together we can achieve more.

There is no doubt but that the recent pandemic has been a challenging time for our society as a whole. I take this opportunity to commend the Government, in particular the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, for providing us with the infrastructure to be able to maintain the continuity of the employer-employee relationship. In doing so, we were able to continue to support our children and families through the use of our in-house communication tool, Child Paths.

It goes without saying that childcare has undergone many changes in the past ten to 15 years. In this time we have seen investment from the Government, starting from a very low base; the making compulsory of QQI qualifications - a minimum of level 5, level 6 for preschool, as we now strive to have 60% degree-led; and an increased number of inspections from Tusla, Pobal, DEIS and environmental officers to ensure compliance with regulations.

On 5 February, tens of thousands of early years childcare providers, educators demonstrating their support and parents took part in a protest in Dublin city calling on the Government to provide increased funding to reduce fees for parents, to introduce a recognised pay scale for early years professionals and to support the sustainability of the services. Current research demonstrates that 60% of early years childcare professionals earn less than the living wage. This factor has a great impact on the retention of staff. According to the Early Years Sector Profile Report 2018/2019, nationally, on average, there is a 23.4% annual turnover of staff within the sector, with 23% of services reporting vacancies and 53% reporting difficulty recruiting. While we acknowledge that these statistics are marginally down on previous years, the Government needs to focus on a robust governance structure that would provide for strong, effective leadership and Government investment in career and salary structures for the sector.

In May, the NCCF, in collaboration with the Association of Childhood Professionals, ACP, and the National Childhood Network, NCN, carried out a survey of both community and private providers to indicate the effects of Covid-19 and the difficulties in reopening. There were over 3,500 responses, and 2,500 providers completed the survey. The indicators were that 98% stated they would have some level of financial difficulty in reopening and 79% stated they had concerns about staff returning, with the greatest worry for staff being the health implications for themselves and their families. Reduction of staff hours or staff redundancy was an issue, as was the need for access to Covid-19 testing. Other issues included cross-contamination and the financial implications of operating on reduced ratios. As an air of confusion, insecurity and anxiety floated through the early years sector, it became very evident that Crann services were needed. The need for the services provided by Crann increased by 400% over the pandemic due to the lack of confidence within the community sector to identify the necessary actions to prepare for the reopening of services. The Crann support team had the necessary professional experience, knowledge and skills to amalgamate the guidelines from the relevant authorities. There was a statutory requirement for a Covid-19 document for the safe reopening of services.

Regarding the HSA and the back-to-work protocol, on 8 May Crann support teams started to work on the list of things needed for the Covid-19 response document. The committee can see my written statement for details. There are many benefits of a shared services model similar to that of Crann. These benefits have been documented following a recent external evaluation of the Crann model by Trinity College Dublin. The Trinity College research team has highlighted that the model allows member organisations to focus on core business activities; gives confidence and reliability in management and human resource services; gives access to significant expertise and knowledge working within the non-profit sector; gives confidence and reliability in the accuracy and efficiency of accountancy and payroll services; oversees compliance with statutory law; maximises training of qualified personnel; and is cost-effective, with substantial savings.