Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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19. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if measures are being introduced to professionalise child care provision which would be of benefit to child care providers, in terms of personal development and recognition of skills acquired but also for ensuring a high standard of child care at facilities across the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43965/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Prior to the introduction of the free pre-school year under the Early Childhood Care and Education programme in January 2010, there were no qualification requirements for staff working with children in the childcare sector. The new programme required that pre-school leaders in childcare services delivering the free pre-school provision hold a Level 5 qualification or equivalent on the National Framework of Qualifications.

Reforms across the childcare sector are being introduced by my Department under the Early Years Quality Agenda. These reforms include the requirement that by September 2015 all staff working directly with children in the 0 to 6 years age category in early years services must hold a relevant Level 5 qualification or equivalent.

In addition to the general requirement for a Level 5 qualification, pre-school leaders delivering the free pre-school provision under the Early Childhood Care and Education programme, who are currently required to hold a Level 5 qualification, will have to have a Level 6 qualification, or equivalent, by September 2015.

Last March, my Department introduced a Learner Fund to assist existing staff working in the childcare sector to meet the new requirements. This fund has a total allocation of €3 million for the years 2014 and 2015 and is designed to subsidise the cost for childcare staff who are required to undertake accredited Level 5 and Level 6 courses.

Ireland, like other European countries, does not provide for mandatory Continuing Professional Development for early years practitioners.  I would like to be in a position to provide for mandatory CPD and, while there is an emphasis on encouraging services to employ staff with higher qualifications, and the ECCE programme does provide for this by providing higher capitation payments to services with staff who hold Level 7 or higher qualifications, the immediate priority is to ensure that all childcare services meet the minimum qualification requirements. This will help to ensure higher standards and consistency of quality across the childcare sector.