Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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1167. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his plans to improve the pay and conditions of professionals in the childcare sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29109/22]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1201. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps that he is taking to minimise staff turnover in the childcare industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30416/22]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1202. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps that he is taking to ensure pay and conditions for staff in the childcare industry are sufficient to incentivise people into the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30417/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1167, 1201 and 1202 together.

I firmly believe that the level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners should reflect the value of their work for children, for families, for society and the economy. The most recent available data indicates the average hourly wage for non-managerial staff in the sector in 2021 was €12.60, with many staff working part-time or on temporary contracts. This data underscores the need for significant improvement in both pay and conditions of employment.

The State is not the employer, and my Department does not set wage levels nor determine working conditions for staff in the sector. However, I am doing all that is in my power to address the issue.

In particular, I began a process in December 2020 to examine the possibility of regulating pay and conditions and the suitability of a Joint Labour Committee for the sector. This process culminated in the establishment of a Joint Labour Committee for Early Years Services, which began meeting in December 2021.

The outcomes of the Joint Labour Committee process will be supported by the new Core Funding stream I announced in Budget 2022 which will provide an additional €73 million of funding in 2022 and is equivalent to more than €221 million in a full year. Core Funding is expected, among other objectives, to support Employment Regulation Orders that may arise from the Joint Labour Committee for Early Years Services, improving workforce recruitment and retention through improvement in pay and conditions.

In addition, last December I launched Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in early learning and care and school-age childcare. One of its five "pillars" comprises commitments aimed at supporting recruitment, retention and diversity in the workforce, and it includes actions to raise the profile of careers in the sector.

A comprehensive Implementation Plan is included within Nurturing Skills and covers the first phase of implementation from 2022-2024. A Monitoring Committee is currently being established with the task of monitoring the implementation of Nurturing Skills.