Dáil debates

Thursday, 7 July 2022

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Childcare Services

11:10 am

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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86. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he has taken to improve the pay and conditions of professionals in the childcare sector, and to reduce the cost of childcare to parents. [35755/22]

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister outline the steps that have been taken to improve the pay and conditions of professionals in the childcare sector and to reduce the cost of childcare to parents?

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I firmly believe that the level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners should reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the wider economy. I know everyone across this House is united in the belief that the level of pay needs to improve.

The State is not the employer of childcare staff, and my Department does not set their wage levels or working conditions. However, I am doing all in my power to address the issue of pay. In particular, I began a process in December 2020 to examine the possibility of regulating pay and conditions and the suitability of a joint labour committee for the sector. This process culminated in the establishment of a joint labour committee for early years services, which began meeting in December last year. The outcomes of the committee's work will be supported by the new core funding stream I announced in budget 2022, which will provide an additional €73 million of funding in 2022 and is equivalent to more than €221 million in a full year.

Core funding is expected, among other objectives, to support employment regulation orders that may arise from the joint labour committee to improve workforce recruitment and retention through improvements in pay. Core funding will require providers to commit not to increase fees from the September 2021 rates. This will ensure that parents feel the full affordability benefits of the NCS. This is particularly important because, from September 2022, universal NCS subsidies will extend to children up to the age of 15.

A transition fund is available to providers from May until August, ahead of the introduction of core funding. This fund invests in services, subject to providers' agreement not to increase parents' fees from September 2021 levels. As of this month, just over 4,000 providers have signed up for transition funding and the associated fee control, which accounts for 96% of all eligible services.

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Families do not need to see their childcare costs frozen; they need to see them reduced dramatically. Sinn Féin has launched a document, Delivering Affordable Childcare, which outlines how we, in government, would reduce fees by two thirds. That is the type of support families and workers need in the here and now. Ireland has higher childcare rates than almost anywhere else in Europe. In that context, it is an absolute travesty that the very professional and well-qualified workers in the sector are among the lowest paid of any of those with similar educational attainments. This needs to be dealt with by the Government setting a wage scale, in the same way as the Department of Education does for teachers and as operates in other areas as well. Will the new arrangements the Minister outlined be in place for September? I fear there may be further delays.

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I absolutely agree with the Deputy that we need to cut costs for parents. I have set out clearly the mechanism by which we will do so and also deliver better pay for childcare professionals. I have not had the opportunity to study the new proposals from his party and I look forward to doing so. I recall that in respect of last year's budget, it proposed an investment of significantly less than what the Government put into the sector. I look forward to seeing it make proposals for additional funding.

We are all in agreement on the requirement to address the three main issues, that is, the need to ensure the sustainability of providers, the need to pay staff better and the need to cut costs for parents. As I have always articulated to the Deputy and others, we are working to deliver all three aims across two budgetary cycles. Through core funding, we are delivering better pay for staff and sustainability for providers. In this year's budget, we will deliver on cutting costs for parents through additional investment in the NCS.

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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To be clear, in our alternative budget last year, we outlined mechanisms that would improve the pay and conditions of people working in the childcare sector and reduce childcare costs for families and workers. None of those things has happened. Many would argue that whatever was in the Government's budget amounted to a stunt. Childcare costs have not come down and the pay and conditions of workers in the sector have not improved.

I asked a specific question on what will happen this September. How many childcare facilities will be operating under the new scheme and what will be the real impact on parents of children attending those facilities?

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The contract for core funding was issued in the past two weeks. Childcare providers will be filling out and returning their applications. We do not know at this point what the numbers are. We know 96% of providers have signed up to the transition scheme, which includes the agreement to limit fee increases. We know 89% of providers have signed up to the sector profile, which is the first step towards signing up to core funding. There is significant buy-in across the sector. We see that as really valuable. Through core funding, I believe we will be able to deliver on the better rates of pay that are being negotiated in the employment regulation order. There will be a guaranteed living wage for childcare providers as the entry rate and higher rates that recognise qualifications and the role of deputy managers and room leaders will apply.