Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share my time with Deputies Seamus Healy and Michael Fitzmaurice.

I commend Deputy Kathleen Funchion for taking this initiative. The Social Democrats fully support this motion. We have always known the first five years in a person's life are the most important. It is the time when the future emotional, social and educational well-being of a person is laid down. However, when it comes to Government investment, children always seem to be the last in line. As a result, we have one of the most underfunded and underdeveloped child care systems in the European Union. UNICEF’s international benchmark for investment in early years education is 1% of GDP. We spend just 0.5% below the average for OECD countries and just 25% of the European average investment in early years services. We are nowhere near the 1.8% of GDP spent in Iceland, the 1.6% spent in Sweden or 1.4% invested in Denmark. As a result of this chronic underfunding, we now have a service that is highly inconsistent and a sector that is verging on a staffing crisis.

We have all seen the recent survey from Early Childhood Ireland that showed 86% of its respondents are concerned that difficulties recruiting and retaining staff will impact on the viability of its services. Some 36% of those who tried to recruit staff in the past 12 months were unable to find anyone suitable. Most concerning of all, however, is that 46% of those who managed to recruit had to settle for someone with lower qualifications than they would have wanted. That is not surprising. Despite the fact this is a well qualified workforce, with a minimum qualification of a level 5 Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI award, they are earning below the living wage and working in incredibly precarious conditions.

Among the estimated 22,000 workers in this sector, many are employed for just 15 hours a week or on contract for only 39 weeks in a year, forcing thousands of trained workers to sign on to social welfare each summer. That is no way to treat an essential workforce, and it is no wonder that the sector has a staff turnover rate of almost 30%.

The motion before the House aims to create an employment regime that reflects the level of professionalism and educational attainment that we expect from those entrusted with the care of our children. If that is the aim, it is critical that child care workers organise and join a union and ensure they achieve their basic rights as workers.

The current system is completely unacceptable and there is a clear need for the introduction of professional pay scales, continuous professional development, and paid non-contract time. However, we also need to know what it is actually costing to run a quality service which can appropriately remunerate its staff. In the absence of the sort of robust cost review called for by Early Childhood Ireland, it is hard to see the basis on which the Government is making its policy decisions.

This is evident in the approaching roll-out of the affordable child care scheme. Other speakers have quoted what the private early education providers have said regarding the lack of information on contracts.

Fundamentally, it indicates a lack of respect for those who will be providing the service. This needs to end. If we are to ensure the quality of care we expect this sector to provide, then the Government needs to take action and provide for decent pay and fair working conditions in this most important sector.

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