Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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422. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he is taking to address the rise in closures of small and average sized childcare services since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44662/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Every year it is normal for some Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services to close while other new services register with Tusla.

Services intending to close must notify the ELC/SAC regulator, Tusla. The most recent available data shows that the number of services notifying their closure to Tusla for the period of Jan-July 2021 is comparable to the same period in 2020 and is less than the number of service closures that occurred in Jan-July 2019. The overall number of service closures each year has remained steady, as has the number of new services registering with Tusla.

Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that some early learning and childcare services do face difficulties and that this is sometimes the reason for closures. To avoid this, and to offer support with difficulties generally, my Department oversees a Case Management process through which local City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs) and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to early learning and childcare services experiencing difficulties. Pobal co-ordinate the overall case management process with the CCC administering on-the-ground case management assistance. This can include help with completing and interpreting analysis of staff ratios, fee-setting and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.

Financial supports, which may also be accessed through the Case Management process, are available for community services presenting with sustainability issues following a financial assessment by Pobal.

Normally, financial supports are only available for community services. However, there is a COVID-19 Impact Support funding strand available in 2021, which is for both community and private services. The funding will be available on a rolling basis throughout 2021 for eligible ELC and SAC services that require further financial assistance in addition to current support measures available and others that may be announced throughout the year.

The CCC should be the first point of contact for any service seeking support; I would therefore urge any SAC or ELC service in difficulty to contact their local CCC as soon as possible if they have not done so already.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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423. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on the UNICEF recommendation for 1% of GDP to be invested in childcare; if it is his plan for Ireland to reach this benchmark; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44664/21]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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424. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Ireland is one of the lowest spenders on childcare in the EU; the steps he is taking to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44665/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 423 and 424 together.

Over the past six budgets, investment in Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) has increased by 141% - rising from €260 million in 2015, to €638 million in 2021. This excludes substantial funding provided to support the sector during COVID-19.

Despite this progress, investment in the area remains low by international standards.

The First 5Strategy, commits the Government to at least double public spending in early learning and care and school-age childcare by 2028. A key vehicle to ensure that such significant additional investment delivers optimally for children, families and the State will be the new Funding Model. An Expert Group to develop the new Funding Model was appointed in September 2019, and I expect their report to be finalised in November and look forward to receiving that shortly.

Extensive research has been commissioned to inform the work of the Group and has been published. Frontier Economics, the Research Partner, have produced eight working papers identifying international practice and learning to inform the new funding model.

The full implementation of the Expert Group's recommendations is likely to be a multi-annual process, with funding becoming available on an incremental basis. In the short term, the Group’s recommendations are contributing to informing the Budget 2022 process and my officials are engaged in that process.

Further information on the work of the Expert Group and documentation related to the process is available at www.first5fundingmodel.ie.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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425. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if supports will continue for childcare providers to help them access insurance given the rising costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44666/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I understand that there has been some increase in brokerage fees for the majority of childcare providers, but that there has not been a general or significant increase in premiums for childcare providers. Insurance premiums for early year providers average €60 per child, per annum.

Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Aged Childcare (SAC) services are required to have insurance as part of their registration with Tulsa, the independent regulator of the sector. My Department provides funding to childcare providers under a number of programmes to provide fully or partly subsidised childcare services to families. Childcare providers are private businesses and my Department does not provide funding for specific operational costs such as insurance.

With regard to the cost of insurance, it is important to note that neither the Government, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can direct the pricing or provision of insurance products, as this is a commercial matter which individual companies assess on a case-by-case basis. This position is reinforced by the EU Single Market framework for insurance (the Solvency II Directive) which expressly prohibits Member States from doing so.

Notwithstanding this, insurance reform is a priority for this Government. The Action Plan for Insurance Reform, which was launched on 8 December 2020, contains a range of deliverables in a number of Government Department policy areas. It is intended that the cumulative effect of the implementation of the actions will be to improve the insurance environment, in particular for businesses. I am a member of the Sub-Group for Insurance Reform, chaired by An Tánaiste, which has been set up within the Cabinet Committee for Economic Recovery and Investment to implement these reforms, and will publish progress reports every six months.

Seeking to secure a more sustainable and competitive market through deepening and widening the supply of insurance in Ireland remains a key policy priority for this Government. In this regard, it is the Government’s intention to ensure that the implementation of the Action Plancan have a positive impact on the affordability and availability of insurance for individuals, businesses and voluntary groups, including childcare providers.