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

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “acknowledges:

— the challenges faced by the early learning and childcare sector;

— the particular challenges presented by Covid-19 for the sector and the tremendous efforts by early learning and childcare professionals and service providers during this period to keep services open and safe;

notes that investment in the sector has increased by 141 per cent since 2015 and welcomes the commitment by Government to build on this by at least doubling investment in early learning and childcare by 2028;

recognises:

— the substantial State supports that have been provided to the sector throughout the pandemic that have enabled services to operate safely and ensured that the increased costs associated with public health requirements and with lower demand were not passed on to parents, the supports provided include:

— a continuation of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth subsidy schemes on an ex-gratiabasis (12th March – 5th April, 2020);

— the Temporary Wage Subsidy Childcare Scheme (TWSCS) (6th April – 28th June, 2020) which cost approximately €50 million;

— the Reopening Funding Package for Childcare Services (29th June – 23rd August, 2020) that included a €14.2 million capital grant, an €18 million Reopening Support Payment, in addition to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and resumption of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth subsidy schemes;

— the July Jobs Stimulus package that included the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) (which cost approximately €22 million per month at standard rates and €34 million per month at enhanced rates), a Sustainability Support Fund and a full resumption of the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (from 24th August to end of December 2020); and

— tailored funding arrangements to respond to Level 5 restrictions in the post-Christmas period, that included a new €12 million Covid-19 Operating Support Payment and a new Covid-19 strand of the Sustainability Support Fund, in addition to the EWSS, that allowed services to continue to operate on a sustainable basis for children of essential workers and vulnerable children, while not charging parents who were not accessing services during this period;

— that early learning and childcare employers continue to be entitled to access the EWSS with an exemption to having to demonstrate the drop in turnover that applies to other sectors and since October 2020, EWSS has been paid at enhanced rates and these rates are estimated to cover, on average, 80 per cent of staff costs in the sector, or 50 per cent of total operating costs; and the cost of this measure is €34 million per month;

— that there is strong evidence of the effectiveness of these supports, including:

— the data on services that have closed and opened in 2020 are directly comparable to 2019 so there has been no loss of capacity;

— data from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners indicates that the number of employees in the sector has not changed substantially over the course of the pandemic; and

— data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile Survey reveals there have been no significant increase in fees charged to parents;

welcomes the commitments in the Programme for Government to:

— establish an agency, Childcare Ireland, to assist in the expansion of high quality childcare, spearheading leadership, best practice and innovation, and professional development in community and private settings;

— continue to invest in the National Childcare Scheme, reducing costs for parents and introducing greater parental choice and flexibility;

— reform the childcare system to create one that brings together the best of community and private childcare provision, is focused on children’s rights and quality outcomes, reduces inequalities, supports staff retention, and substantially reduces costs to parents, in consultation with providers, staff, and parents;

— ensure sustainability within the Early Learning and Care and School-Age Care sector, by fast-tracking the work of the Expert Group in considering a new funding model;

— examine the approach of other European countries to set a cap on parental fees, irrespective of income;

— support the establishment of a Joint Labour Committee in the childcare sector and the drawing up of an Employment Regulation Order, which would determine minimum rates of pay for childcare workers, as well as terms and conditions of employment; and

— extend paid parental leave for parents, to allow them to spend more time with their baby during the first year;

further acknowledges and welcomes the significant progress made to deliver on these commitments, including:

— the introduction and roll out of the National Childcare Scheme to provide subsidies to 80,000 children and reduce costs to parents as well as the review of the Scheme which has recently been completed and will be shortly laid before the Oireachtas;

— the development of a new funding model by end 2021 that will ensure additional investment committed by Government will reduce the costs to parents, ensure additional supports can be provided to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, compensate providers so that they can deliver early learning and childcare on a sustainable and high-quality basis, and attract and retain a well-qualified workforce;

— the development of a workforce development plan for the sector by the end of 2021 that will ensure appropriate numbers of early learning and childcare professionals, support the achievement of qualification targets for the workforce, establish role profiles and a career framework and set out plans to develop a national system of continuing professional development;

— the launch and initial implementation of a National Action Plan for Childminding, that sets out a phased approach to bringing childminders within the scope of State funded supports and regulation over the period 2021-2028, with regional Childminding Development Officers already working with city and county Childcare Committees to provide local-level supports to childminders and commitments to review and reform financial supports for childminding such as the Childminder Development Grant;

— the introduction of regulations for School-Age Childcare, and the publication in September 2020 of National Quality Guidelines for School-Age Childcare Services;

— the recent establishment of a Joint Labour Committee in the early learning and childcare sector to draw up an Employment Regulation Order, which would determine minimum rates of pay for early learning and childcare professionals, as well as terms and conditions of employment; and

— the recognition of early learning and childcare as a strategic investment priority in the revised National Development Plan with significant funding earmarked to increase capacity in the sector in the coming four years;

further notes that the European Commission has welcomed ‘the major efforts and targeted investments in early childhood education and care, which have clear milestones and a plan for evaluation and follow-up’ and encouraged Ireland to ‘maintain the momentum of reforms in improving affordability, access and quality of ECEC’; and

while noting that further developments and investment are required, recognises that there are many positive and progressive elements to the current early learning and childcare sector and acknowledges the planning and preparation that have been undertaken to progress reforms in the sector in the coming years."

I welcome this timely opportunity to debate the important issue of early learning and childcare. Before speaking to the substance of the motion, I will briefly reflect on the 18 months gone by. I agree with what was said by Deputy Funchion and other speakers, in that Covid-19 has posed huge challenges to the early learning and childcare sector and the people working in this sector and primarily the women working in it, have shown incredible resilience.

I always think back to the dark days of January this year in particular, during which childcare providers and professionals stepped up. They kept their services open for the children and their parents and especially for the most vulnerable children and those whose parents were essential workers and they continued to deliver an incredibly high standard of learning and care. People throughout the country are very grateful for their actions. Whenever I visit a childcare facility, I am always struck by the absolute commitment of childcare providers and professionals to doing what is in the best interest of the children in their care.

I also understand that people working in this sector want more than just words of praise. They want to see action. Across the Dáil, we all share the same goals of affordability, accessibility and high-quality early learning and care; pay and conditions commensurate with the dedication of staff and the demands of this job and providers who are able to operate in a safe and sustainable manner. We would all acknowledge this area was neglected for far too long and for decades, the State failed to invest in childcare and left women to juggle their own childcare needs and careers. We know that Ireland can do better than that and the Government is committed to doing so.

I have tabled an amendment to this motion as while the Government accepts there is a need to continue to develop and reform the early learning and childcare sector, the programme for Government makes extensive commitments in this regard and, more importantly, we have already begun work on delivering those commitments, bringing real and lasting development and reform that will benefit children, parents and early learning and childcare professionals and providers.

We all recognise the complexity of this issue and its seriousness for children, parents, providers and childcare professionals. That degree of seriousness requires detail and I note we have not been presented with any costings on the measures proposed in this motion and nor have any costings been addressed in any of the presentations we have received so far. Stating that one third of the costs of childcare will be paid this year and two thirds thereafter, without any reference to the figures, does not speak to the seriousness of the issue about which Members are speaking today. In the amendment I have tabled, I set out the costings and investment the Government has put into the childcare sector over the past year. I am always happy to talk about and debate this issue but it must be on foot of detail and on foot of recognising the cost and value of childcare to our State, parents and children.

The past 18 months have been profoundly difficult for many sectors of our society and economy and the early learning and childcare sector is no exception. Since coming into office, I have sought to ensure services remain open, have been supported and could retain staff. The July stimulus package of 2020 included the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, sustainability funding and full resumption of the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme.

In August 2020, we provided the reopening support package, which included a €14.2 million capital grant for childcare providers and an €18 million reopening support package. Last Christmas and in the following January of this year, we created tailored funding arrangements in response to the level 5 restrictions that were reintroduced, including a €12 million Covid operating support payment and a new strand of Covid sustainability funding, in addition to payment of the EWSS to providers.

With regard to the EWSS, last July I negotiated a sector-specific exemption in order that childcare providers did not have to demonstrate the drop in turnover that applies to all other sectors. Since October 2020, the EWSS has been paid at enhanced rates. Those rates are estimated to cover an average of 80% of the staff costs in the sector and an average of 50% of total operating costs of childcare providers. This amounts to €34 million invested every month in childcare providers around this country.

There is strong evidence that this level of investment is paying dividends. The data on services that closed and opened in 2020 are directly comparable with 2019. There has not been a loss of capacity despite Covid-19. Data from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners indicate that the number of employees in the sector has not changed substantially over the course of the pandemic. Data from the annual early years sector profile survey reveal that in 2020, unlike in previous years, we did not see sharp increases in the fees that parents were being forced to pay across the sector. I am proud of the work my Department has done across the pandemic. In particular, I thank the childcare advisory group, which has been invaluable in co-ordinating with my Department throughout.

Rapid Government responses were required by the sector in response to the challenges posed by Covid-19. While they were successfully delivered, the importance of long-term and long-lasting development and reform is now even more significant. A number of related challenges face the childcare sector. Parents are faced with fees that are beyond their ability to pay. Pay and conditions of staff are not commensurate with the job that they do and many providers are struggling with sustainability. It is not enough to make fees affordable for parents if staff still are not paid enough. It is not enough to increase the pay of staff if services end up struggling to survive. It is not enough to support providers if parents and staff are left behind. All three elements must be addressed together.

We have put in place a reform agenda that recognises the scale and complexity, that is, the interlinked elements of each of these three factors. To reduce fees for parents, we already have rolled out the national childcare scheme, NCS. It now provides subsidies to 80,000 children, reducing the costs of early learning and care. While progress has been made, I understand and recognise the substantial stress still placed on too many parents by the costs of childcare. It for this reason that we are developing a new funding model. It will ensure the additional investment committed by the Government will further reduce the costs for parents. Beyond that, it will ensure that additional supports can be provided to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. It will compensate providers in order that they can deliver early learning and childcare on a sustainable and high-quality basis. It will attract and retain a well-qualified workforce.

To improve staff paying conditions, we have established a joint labour committee in the early learning and childcare sector. It will draw up an employment regulation order, ERO, which will determine minimum rates of pay for early learning and childcare professionals, as well as terms and conditions of employment. We are creating a workforce development plan for the sector, which will be published by the end of this year. It will ensure appropriate numbers of early learning and childcare professionals; will support the achievement of qualification targets for the workforce; will establish role profiles and career frameworks; and will set out plans to develop a national system of continuing professional development, CPD. Of course, earlier this year we launched the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, which sets out a phased approach to bringing childminders, who are so important to so many families, into the scope of State-funded supports and regulation. The national development plan launched yesterday recognises early learning and care as a strategic investment priority, with significant funding earmarked to increase capacity in the sector in the coming years.

Deputy Funchion referred to the protest outside the Dáil today. I was pleased to be able to go out and speak to providers, many of whom I have met over the past year. I have listened to the issues they have raised in respect of the NCS. I have heard those issues. We are undertaking research about how we can address those issues in a targeted manner. I look forward to bringing back proposals to address that specific issue in order that no children, particularly the most disadvantaged children, are left behind.

To conclude, it is important to recognise the scale of the challenges we face in this sector, as well as the complexity of the solutions. It is important to state, which is why we are putting forward this counter-amendment, that substantial work already is under way. Early learning and childcare are a public good. They benefit all society. This has become even more evident in the context of the pandemic we have just undergone. Work is being progressed by the Government that will deliver needed and long-lasting reform to this essential sector. The Government has supported the sector, as the sector rose to the challenge posed by Covid-19. As the pandemic abates, the Government will work to continue those supports. Through the new funding model, through the joint labour committee, through the childminding action plan, through the workforce development plan and through additional investment, we will deliver a better deal for parents, providers, childcare professionals and most importantly, for children.

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