Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The €69 million to which the Deputy refers is for the new core funding stream. Core funding will be a payment directly to Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare (ELC and SAC) providers who sign up to participate. A condition was this funding is that providers will not to increase parents’ fees for ELC and SAC.

Core funding will be available from September 2022. The value of core funding to each provider will be determined by a number of factors:

- The capacity of the service will be the main basis for calculation. It will be based on the numbers of children, the hours available and the number of weeks per year the service is open. Larger services, and those operating longer hours, will receive higher funding.

- Higher levels of funding will be available for capacity for younger children, to support the higher operating costs of ELC for these children arising from the higher staff ratio requirements.

- Additional funding will be available for provision that is led by a staff member with a degree-level qualification.

The €69m estimate for the four months of 2022 includes provision to support higher quality services by enabling providers to better attract and retain staff, including degree-qualified staff; establish career structures; and introduce or improve other factors that contribute to high-quality early learning and childcare, such as non-contact time, planning, training and curriculum implementation. 

A central objective of the new funding is to support Programme for Government commitment to support the drawing up of an Employment Regulation Order (ERO) by a Joint Labour Committee (JLC) to determine minimum rates of pay for workers, as well as terms and conditions of employment. The new funding stream is therefore largely contingent on an ERO being agreed.

The precise implications of the funding for staff terms and conditions depends on the agreement by the JLC. However, I believe that the level of funding provided is significant enough to achieve a substantial improvement in levels of staff pay and the development of career frameworks. These are important points to improve quality in the sector, by supporting the retention and progression of staff.

The new funding stream will help to ensure that services remain sustainable in the context of a commitment not to increase fees. For this reason, Core Funding will also contribute towards cost increases related to non-staff costs (for example, utilities and rent) as well as adminstration.

The new funding stream is a strategic, comprehensive approach to supporting providers in the costs of delivery of quality services, while ensuring that parents feel the affordability effects of other schemes. This package marks the beginning of an important and transformative multi-annual investment programme and achieves significant progress on the commitment to increase spending on ELC and SAC to approximately €1 billion by 2028.