Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am going to get right to the heart of matters this morning and talk about core funding and staffing issues for childcare providers. This is based on engaging with a range of childcare providers of various types in Dublin West. All of them speak to overburdensome paperwork and financial reporting; accounting requirements that go far beyond their capacity and capability when everything is already transparent and submitted to Revenue; and administration that is getting in the way of relationships with parents and the real work of delivering quality care and education. The scale of non-contact time and the lack of funding for non-contact time is putting serious pressure on providers.

I have been speaking to a couple of providers. A smaller pre-school told me that they stay up to midnight every night filling up paperwork themselves, for maybe two to three hours every day. A larger provider said their centre manager spent three full days a week administering the schemes.

Moving on to staff retention and recruitment, childcare workers do not feel valued. They are leaving or they are not attracted to the sector. The reality is they are not being paid enough for the work they do. I appreciate the rise in the ERO but sadly, it is not enough to compete with other careers. Providers in Dublin West are already paying those levels anyway. Level 8 graduates are leaving the sector to work as primary school teachers or in therapies. Other levels are attracted to becoming SNAs with better hours, conditions and holidays. We are losing really good people who want to work in early years and the result is providers are closing down rooms. Tigers Childcare has informed parents of their struggles with staff, and services are closing. Chatterbox in Rockabee Park, for instance, announced last week that it is closing because of staff shortages.

Early learning graduates should be treated equitably with school teachers at this stage. We need to keep and value the people who have years of experience in childcare but do not have degrees. We need to offer more training and support more opportunities. There is a very strong argument for core funding covering staff costs. If early learning and childcare is an essential public service, we have to start treating it as such.

Core funding is working for some but for others it really is not. I fear that the Government underestimates how precarious the situation is. How many providers are on the verge of pulling out of core funding? The 15% increase in core funding does not translate into 15% for services. I am told the overall uplift for services is about 2.5%, and the Government is right to freeze fees at 2019 levels for parents. I really believe that. However, if we are going to do that we have to take into consideration the increased operating costs over the last five years. They cannot expect services to absorb those losses when they know it is not a high-profit sector for most.

Core funding increases are not enough to cover the additional cost of recruitment, retention and administration. There is not enough funding for baby rooms. Where does quality come into all of this? There are flaws that need to be rectified. The fact that new services can set their fees but existing services cannot increase theirs is creating problems and tension. I very much believe in core funding. As a model, it works but it has to adapt. It needs further investment, funding and partnership. Right now, there is too much rigidity and there is not enough trust. We need short- and long-term solutions to staffing. This really is a ticking timebomb. All the signs are there for us to read - room closures, service closures, and ECCE operators struggling to survive. Every service and every place matters.