Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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697. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the operation of the ECCE scheme is being kept under review; if she will take steps to address issues arising, specifically the administrative complexity faced by smaller providers in availing of the grant, which places a heavy administrative burden on smaller providers particularly and the level of the capitation grant and if it is sufficient for all self-employed childcare providers to be paid above minimum wage for all of the hours that they work; and her views on the fact that in the past five years, nine small childcare providers have closed down in one area (details supplied) due to these issues, leaving parents without the childcare services that they require. [5367/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Programme for Government commits to conducting and publishing an independent review of the cost of providing quality childcare. This commitment aligns closely with work on the design and development of a new Single Affordable Childcare Scheme and is currently being progressed in that context. As part of this, Department officials are reviewing previous published research and analysis on the cost of childcare provision, are assessing available data sources and are scoping the precise requirements for the independent review. This review will feed into future policy development, including in relation to levels of payments to services.

In relation to wage rates, my Department is not the employer to childcare workers. Nevertheless I do acknowledge the reality that the ECCE scheme provides the majority of income for many childcare providers, and I am aware that the sector is under cost pressure. To go some way towards addressing this, I have secured significant additional funding in Budget 2017, including some €10m which will enable ECCE providers to be paid for a 39th week and part of a 40th week (7 ECCE days in total or 1.4 ECCE weeks) where they will have no children present and they will be able to pay staff to concentrate on administrative workload. Services themselves can decide how to use the payment when it is received. For the average ECCE service with 25 children, this will mean an additional annual payment of approximately €2,400 per annum. Additional funding will also be given to CCS and TEC providers on a pro-rata basis also to acknowledge their administrative burden. The Affordable Childcare Scheme when introduced will replace CCS and TEC and will have recognition of non-contact time built into its cost base. In addition, under Budget 2017 a provision was made for a fund of €1m to assist in the investigation of sustainability issues being faced by childcare providers, and to develop a policy to guide any future interventions.

My Department will continue to monitor the situation with regard to staffing and service closures in the childcare sector- in 2016 capital funding was provided to more than 50 childcare services in the Fingal area to increase capacity. I hope to announce a similar scheme for 2017 shortly. If parents are experiencing difficulty sourcing childcare in Fingal, I would urge them to contact the Fingal County Childcare Committee.