Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for indicating too early, but I have been sitting here for two previous sessions of Committee Stage in order to raise these points.
I welcome the amendments. They are very creative and will support good community organisations and sporting organisations and also the invaluable work of nursing homes. It is excellent to see this.
I wish to raise an issue in regard to child care settings, as it is a similar type of setting to that being discussed, but we need to explore it. Before I begin I wish to declare an interest. I am the chairperson of Early Childhood Ireland. It is a pro bonoposition, a Government position. I say this in case anybody feels there is any conflict in any issue I raise here.
I thank the Minister of State's officials, who provided a very comprehensive briefing on the Bill before it commenced on Committee Stage. I learned a great deal about valuations at the briefing. I spoke about this issue on Second Stage in October 2012. There are about 4,700 early child care and education settings in Ireland which employ about 22,000 staff. They offer full day and school care for about 67,000 children and their families. Those figures are increasing all the time. The services are available in every corner of the country from small playgroup settings to very large settings ranging from ten children to 300 children. The service can be a charity, a not-for-profit body or a commercial operation. We do have the full spectrum.
Let us take a brief moment to consider the importance of early childhood education. The Minister of State has talked about sporting and the nursing homes. Early childhood education has proved to be a return in investment for the State but, more importantly, we know the importance for children in their development. This is one of the reasons we need to look more creatively at the rate situation in respect of these settings. The ECCE scheme which the Government heralds is an excellent scheme under which we offer a preschool year. The take-up rate of 96% among those who are eligible is great. It shows that the State and parents recognise the importance of early childhood care and education, but sustainability is a key issue. Since its introduction, a recent survey conducted by Early Childhood Ireland shows that 46% of crèches and preschools around the country have indicated that their financial stability has decreased. Under the scheme no additional charges can be made to parents. I am not arguing for additional charges, but the problem is that the rates charged are different throughout the country. Under the scheme the State has agreed to provide a particular amount for early child care settings. It sets out the number of staff and the amount of space that must be available. We are regulating all these components, yet the rates valuation can be very different around the country. I am looking at Senator Feargal Quinn because he will appreciate the difficulty of sustaining a business under this model. Early child care education settings are profitable in certain parts of the country but not worth it in other parts, purely because rates are the variable factor that can make it unviable, as they go off the Richter scale in some places.
There are a few issues here. At present, charities are exempted, but the difficulty is that not-for-profits are not. We need to look at the not-for-profit model where we have community-based organisations. It should be possible to have those exempted. Based on the Government amendments, it is certainly something that could be done. Perhaps we can look at educational establishments.

There is a standard in Aistear, a State-designed curriculum. If these early child care settings are implementing the State curriculum then surely they should get recognition for doing so. There is also Síolta which provides guidelines on spacing requirements.

We need to look at where we put early child care settings. We know that 80% of a child's development occurs by the age of 3. At just 22 months a child's development level can accurately predict his or her educational outcome at 26 years of age. That means that at 22 months we know the educational outcome for a child. That fact reinforces for me the importance of early childhood education. The State needs to do what it can to support early childhood education.

Perhaps the difficulty lies with designated educational establishments. The Minister of State will probably say to me that the difficulty is that some of these organisations are for-profit. I am not against people making a profit and I can understand that the State does not want, in any way, to support reducing that opportunity for people. Let us look at what the Minister did with the sports organisations in terms of alcohol. Can the for-profit parts be sectioned off? Most of these child care settings, even the for-profit ones, provide a free preschool year. That means they provide a free preschool year by the State with these requirements and restrictions. Are we saying that the other elements of their business needs to support same?

We also know that many parents support a second preschool year and that the second preschool year is essential for children with special needs. Many parents will come forward and say to the child care setting: "I will pay for this because I know how important it is and see how important it is for my child." The difficulty with saying that only those in the scheme will be exempt is we are saying "we do not want to take a child with special needs for the second year, who will be paid for, because that will make us in violation of the rules". Instead, the State should do everything that it can and I would prefer if the State paid for that child. In this case, parents are willing to pay but the child care provider is saying that the interpretation of wholly or mainly has changed. It used to be they felt it was over 50% but they are now saying it is 100%. In my briefings with the officials they said: "Well, we probably overlooked it." There is nothing in writing so that child care providers know, quite comfortably, that they can take two or three children. How many children are allowed? What percentage is it? What is meant by "the business is wholly or mainly" in terms of the free preschool year? How does a child care setting know it can offer the service when it is 100%?

There is a real issue with children being turned away from child care settings. In 2011, there was a change in the applications of rates across the country which stated that the exemption applied only to child care services that are exclusively or 100% ECCE funded, and did not offer any other services, as additional services are and were not considered educational.

We have a State curriculum, plus Aistear and Síolta so the State could easily add the rule that the State curriculum must be implemented in the extra time. The provision puts an enormous pressure on the services and will have a detrimental impact on some children, especially children with special needs. It will also have a detrimental impact on children with learning difficulties, language difficulties, and speech and language difficulties. Parents would like to avail of the scheme in all these areas and in their local community.

I with to raise another issue on rates. We are encouraging child care places to literally comply with the regulations without extra space even though we know children need space. In some places, I am told, gardens are included while in other rateable areas gardens are not being included. Children should be allowed to play outside. I know a fabulous child care setting in Donegal where the children spend the majority of their time outdoors. It is an outdoor crèche so the children spend 90% or more of their time outdoors all day every day. We should encourage child care places to have outside spaces and other areas of play. Child care places need a kitchen and a corridor. Extra facilities are needed but they all add up to a rateable value.

The Minister of State can say: "We look at each building and go up or down but that depends on the building. We do not look at the purpose or use of the building." If rates are increased in an area then a shop or commercial outlet can change its product. As a business or commercial model, even the private child care settings cannot increase the number children. They cannot say we will stack them three high and pack more in. A child care setting is not that type of business model even for private operators. We need to encourage such settings. We must ensure they are available throughout Ireland and in every location. There is a need for a more creative way forward. Perhaps we could glean ideas from what has been done with the sporting and nursing organisations.

I have met the people who run early child care settings throughout Ireland. I have been told their businesses are about to collapse because of the rates issue. It is the only variable that they cannot control and they are finding it extremely difficult.

I shall end on the following point. At this stage in Ireland we all recognise and agree that early childhood education is important but ten years ago that was not the case. The State must ask itself what it can do to support the delivery of such education in every community. The scheme has been brilliant because it has moved us away from the traditional question of whether a mother is working or not working and now focuses on the importance of education for the child. The scheme is not about the status of the parent but the child's ability to be in a child care setting in his or her local community yet still be in an educational environment that is very different from primary school.

Early childhood is a key developmental time in a child's life. I appeal to the Minister of State, and I have had several conversations with him about it, to come back on Report Stage and find a way to at least alleviate the problem for some. Obviously I would like to see how we could provide relief for all who provide early childhood education in Ireland.