James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department currently provides approximately €260 million annually to early years and school-age care and education services. This funding is directed towards a number of programmes, which aim to improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of early years and school-age care and education.

To ensure that all the benefits of this and future investment are fully realised, it must be evidence-based and strategically co-ordinated. It is critically important that any investment is designed to achieve the best outcomes for children and their parents. Accordingly, I have established an interdepartmental group to develop a coherent whole-of-government approach to investment in early years and after-school care and education.

This group, which includes representation from seven Departments, including Public Expenditure and Reform, Finance and An Taoiseach, is tasked with developing a series of options for future investment, and is required to report to Government by next month.

I recognise the difficulties being faced by providers and the concerns of early childhood professionals in relation to levels of remuneration in the early years sector. Salary levels are a matter for agreement between providers and their staff. I am aware that staff salaries make up the greater proportion of costs and that an increase in capitation and subvention payments through the child care support programmes would assist providers to address this and other cost issues.

I have indicated that if resources become available, I will review the scope for increasing the level of payments. Any decisions in this regard will be informed by the recommendations of the interdepartmental group.

As regards upskilling, my Department has provided support to early years professionals to meet new qualification requirements that I plan to introduce. Under the Learner Fund, €3 million was allocated in 2014 and 2015 to almost 2,500 early years professionals who have or are currently in the process of upskilling.

The objective of the Learner Fund is to ensure that all existing early years professionals are supported, so that they are in a position to continue to work in the sector when the new qualification requirements are in place. When this is achieved, other measures can be considered which would further support the upskilling of the early years sector.

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