Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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93. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans to enable those who have signed a grandfathering declaration to continue as childcare workers beyond September 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40535/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The minimum qualification requirement for early learning and care services came into effect on 31 December 2016, as stated in the Child Care Act (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. These regulations stipulate that all staff working directly with children must hold a minimum of a Level 5 Major Award in Early Childhood Care and Education on the National Framework of Qualifications or a qualification deemed equivalent.

The introduction of the minimum Level 5 Major Award requirement had been initially announced in 2013, and my Department provided extensive financial investment to support staff to achieve the relevant qualification in the form of multiple Learner Fund bursary rounds between 2014 and 2016. Great strides were made by the sector and over 96% of staff in 2019 held the necessary qualification. To accommodate staff who were due to retire, the Department made available an option for unqualified staff who were planning to retire over the coming years, to sign a grandfather declaration that enabled them to work without qualification for a 5-year period up to September 2021.

The minimum qualification requirement was introduced to raise the quality of provision for children and improve child outcomes. First 5,the whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families, recognises that the workforce is at the heart of high-quality early learning and care. The evidence is irrefutable about the importance of the first five years of life for children's learning. Children achieve better outcomes when staff are qualified. This is undisputed internationally. First 5 seeks to continue to build an appropriately skilled and sustainable professional workforce’. In line with First 5, my Department is currently leading on a Workforce Development Plan which will set out actions to support professionalisation of the workforce, including achieving a graduate-led workforce and raising the profile of careers in the sector by 2028 (A First 5 objective is that 50% of the workforce will have degrees by 2028).

Any decision to extend the grandfathering arrangement or to lower qualification requirements - even temporarily - would run counter to the direction of Government and international policy in this area and would require a strong evidence base. My Department is continuing to monitor workforce developments in the sector and gather data on recruitment difficulties. New data will be available in the coming weeks as part of the annual Pobal Early Years Sector Profile. It is understood that there is a sufficient supply of qualified workers into the sector - the challenge is that they are not being retained, primarily due to poor working terms and conditions. It is the latter issue that needs to be addressed, and other measures will seek to do this. My Department is committed to continuing to work with the sector to find solutions to problems that meet the needs of children, families and providers.