Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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1297. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding early years education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12920/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Department of Children and Youth Affairs believes that staff in the childcare sector have a critical role to play in delivering high quality childcare services and that they deserve to be valued and respected for the important role they play with our children. Because childcare costs to parents in Ireland are one of the highest in the OECD, there is a need to address affordability and quality at the same time.

The Programme for Government commits to carrying out 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 which is due to be introduced later this year, and the Department is progressing this work in that context. The review will feed into future policy development, including in relation to levels of payments to services.

The last two budgets delivered a 35% increase each year in funding for childcare. However, it is recognised that there is a need to continue to invest and a strong case will be put forward for more resources in 2018. To go some way towards addressing cost pressures faced by providers in the sector, €10m has been secured to enable providers to be paid for non-contact time, 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.

While the Department is not an employer of childcare workers it is a significant funder of childcare services and very conscious that there is an issue with regard to the pay and conditions of workers in the sector. It is engaging with the early years sector to explore how this can be addressed in the short, medium and long term.