Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The deadline for responses to the income and costs survey and the annual early years sector profile survey was 30 June. This date was extended from the original deadline in response to requests from providers, and in order to facilitate improved response rates. A significant amount of data has been collected through both surveys. These data will now be prepared for analysis. This involves a number of steps to clean and organise the data before they can be analysed, written up and reported on. Due to the volume and complexity of the data, these steps will take several months. I expect that the findings of the annual early years sector profile survey will be published in quarter 4 of this year followed by the publication of findings from the income and cost survey in early 2022.

This year's income and cost survey will help us to understand the nature of the additional costs that arise in delivering early learning and childcare in accordance with Covid-19 public health guidance. The survey will also help us consider the best means of supporting the sector as we move beyond Covid. The survey allows us to update the hourly unit costs of delivering services. It gives us valuable information on the costs of different types of service and updated assessments on the breakdown of providers' operating costs across services.

The data collected in this year's income and costs survey build on a previous survey undertaken in 2018 as part of the independent review of the cost of delivering quality early learning and childcare in Ireland. The findings of that review, published in November 2020, underpin the substantial Covid-19 supports secured for the sector, including the exemption to the employment wage subsidy scheme turnover rule. The findings of that review are informing work under way to develop a new funding model for the sector. Following the launch of the independent review in November, I requested additional data analysis to be undertaken to better understand profit in the sector and which services make significant profits. That analysis is almost complete and I hope to publish the findings shortly.

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