Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are myriad interconnected issues that are contributing to our fragile childcare system. Let us be in no doubt the Government is working to address them all, one by one. I want to take a look at core funding. The pay freeze has undoubtedly worked for parents and we are very grateful for it, with a reduction of 25% in fees to grow to 50% in September 2024. That is reforming policy. We should only build from there. I congratulate the Minister on the concept of core funding, but it does have to evolve.

In my view, our existing operating model, a model which needs to be developed further and further defined, has particular positive legacy characteristics that we should protect. One of them is the variety of providers that we currently have. We have large-scale providers, chains, medium-sized and small providers, childminders and a network of neighbourhood ECCE providers. We have them all and need them all in Dublin West. Right now, the small and medium providers feel like the Government is turning its back on them. They feel we are changing the operating model, fledgling as it is, towards large-scale centre-based provision, which requires a level of administration that small to medium providers are just not built to manage. Economies of scale are required to make core funding work, and smaller providers just do not have them. Regulator requirements are conflicting and very confusing and are not fostering a supportive environment in which these small to medium providers can thrive.

The reality is that we are losing good early childhood and care educators. I know the official data paints a picture whereby the closure of operators is slowing down, and the Minister feels there is more sustainability overall emerging in the sector. However, intelligence on the ground speaks to uncertainty and a lack of confidence in the future. I am being told it is too hard to make core funding work, that providers are leaving the sector early and the opportunities to grow and expand are not there. Providers are feeling squeezed out and are unsure of where Government policy is really going and if they have a place in it. I am speaking on behalf of all providers today, bar the very large providers as I have not really engaged with them on this.That is not to say they do not have issues of their own. However, it is startling when one speaks to so many operators on the ground who question whether they are going to fit into the direction we are going. The answer I give them is that they will, and that they do, and that we need them and so do our parents. However, they do need to see action with regard to core funding to back that up.

I would very much appreciate if some assurances could be given to them today. For instance, in significantly increasing core funding, allowing services to reach equilibrium with inflation, their income has remained static in the last couple of years despite perhaps a 15% to 20% increase in their operating costs. They need to pay their staff more. The administrative burden is too much and so is the need to deal with so many different agencies. Can we provide wraparound services and centralised services? There has to be more fairness because not all operators are the same and their cost base is different. There cannot be a simple one-size-fits-all solution. More than anything, what they ask me for is partnership and to be part of a sustainable vision that works for everyone.