Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Richmond for raising this really important issue and offering the opportunity to respond. The biggest issue anybody with young children will deal with is trying to make sure they are well cared for and looked after before and after school.

On 15 September, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth launched Together for Better, which is the new funding model for early learning and childcare. Together for Better is underpinned by an expert group report entitled Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare. This new funding model will support delivery of early learning and care, and school-age childcare, for the public good and in the interests of quality and affordability for children, parents and families.

Together for Better brings together three major elements of the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme including the access and inclusion model, the national childcare scheme and core funding in line with the employment regulation orders that are coming into effect. The Minister is very pleased that so far, 90% of early learning and childcare providers, or almost 5,000 services, have become partner services under core funding, committing to working in partnership with the State for the public good and to freeze one-parent fees at September 2021 rates.

Core funding is the new funding stream worth €221 million in full-year costs to start this partnership for the public good between the State and providers. Its primary purpose is to improve pay and conditions in the sector as a whole, which everyone welcomes, and to improve affordability for parents while ensuring a stable income for providers. Core funding allows for an estimated 19% increase in the total cost base for the sector. The vast majority of services will see substantial increases in funding. No service will see a decrease in funding. Together for Better, the new funding model being implemented, aims to transform the sector with a higher degree of public investment and public management. This transformation starts with core funding and the new approach will entail a shift in the relationship between the State and providers. Core funding is open to all registered providers subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the funding, including financial transparency and fee management.

Some providers take the view that the autonomy of their business is of greater value to them than committing to offering services under the conditions and investment levels on offer through core funding, the early childhood care and education programme and the national childcare scheme. To address the nub of the Deputy's point, participation in core funding is, of course, optional. The 90% participation rate countrywide currently ranges from 82% uptake in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown to 100% uptake in County Leitrim. A total of 947 providers across Dublin as a whole have signed up to core funding, representing 85% of eligible services. The remaining 165 services may choose to sign up at a later point.

One of the questions asked by the Deputy was whether small services would lose out. Core funding is based on operating hours, the number of places offered by services and the age group of children for whom the places are offered, given the staffing requirements determined by the regulatory ratios for different care categories. Service opening hours offering more places will receive a higher value of core funding than other services. This is because their costs of operation are higher. The ECCE preschool scheme is 15 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year. This amounts to 570 hours per year and is equivalent to 23% of the annual hours of a full-day service operating from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 50 weeks of the year.

I will, however, take on board the issues the Deputy outlined. I will take them back to the Minister, especially those relating to engagement.

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