Mr. Darragh O'Connor:

My name is Darragh O’Connor. I am head of strategic organising at SIPTU. I am joined by Ms Avril Green, who is an early years educator and chair of the SIPTU national early years committee. As members might know, SIPTU is the union for educators, lead educators and managers working in early childhood education and care and school age childcare. Our union represents approximately 6,000 members in community and private settings throughout Ireland.

SIPTU has a clear vision for the early years sector that is shared by many groups here today. It should be high quality, affordable and accessible. Staff should be recognised and properly rewarded and services should be financially sustainable. After years of campaigning by SIPTU and many others, we have seen some progress towards realising this vision. In September 2022, a new core funding scheme was introduced to the value of €259 million in year one. This supply-side investment is paid directly to providers and was designed to improve quality, affordability, inclusion, and sustainability. A key element of core funding is to financially support pay agreements, the first of which was implemented in September 2022. For the first time, early years educators and managers have a mechanism to improve minimum rates of pay and conditions across their profession. However, three major issues facing the early years sector have to be addressed. These include low pay and the staffing crisis, the level of State investment, and targeted funding and transparency.

Services are struggling to recruit and retain staff due to low pay. Not only is this undermining quality for children, it is also impacting on the sustainability of services, accessibility for parents, and has led to increased stress and workload for educators and managers. Clear evidence shows that low pay is by far the biggest cause of the staffing crisis. The SIPTU early years staffing survey in 2022 showed that 88% of managers and owner managers reported that low pay was the biggest or a significant obstacle to recruiting new staff. Among non-managerial staff, 49% are looking for another job, with low pay being by far the biggest push factor. This has led to unacceptable levels of staff turnover, reaching an average of 38% per year in private full day services. While the first early years pay agreement saw significant pay increases for many employees, the current proposed minimum rate of pay for a qualified early years educator is €13.65 per hour, which is €1.15 below the living wage of €14.80 per hour. Simply put, educators cannot afford to stay in their profession. Without continued improvements in pay, that recognise qualifications and experience, the staffing crisis will continue.

There has been significant State investment, which has to be acknowledged. There is growing recognition of the personal, social, and economic benefits of high quality, affordable and accessible early years. However, Ireland is starting from a very low base and still has much catching up to do. An OECD comparison of early childhood education expenditure per child shows that Ireland spent $4,790 per child in 2022, compared with an average of $11,827 for our EU peer group, which includes other high-income countries. We would need to increase expenditure by 2.5 times to reach our peer group average. This historic investment gap has been bridged by high fees and low pay. This is why SIPTU is calling for continued year on year increases in State investment, with funding for pay ring-fenced.

There is a wide range of service types within the early years sector, from small sessional services to large international chains. There is also a wide range with regard to profitability and rates of pay. A recent SIPTU survey of the accounts of selected leading early years companies showed increasing profits, dividends and directors’ remuneration. However, there is little doubt that some services are struggling. Similarly, when it comes to rates of pay, some services pay early years educators the legal minimum of €13 per hour, while many others are offering €14 to €15 per hour. This variation can be accounted for by two factors, which are the parental fee freeze based on September 2021 levels, which has resulted in a wide variation of income levels for services, and a varying cost base. To level the playing field for providers and staff with regard to pay and conditions, funding allocated in budget 2024 must be targeted towards services that need it the most. This equalisation of income will necessitate financial transparency so that public funds can be allocated in the most efficient and equitable manner.