Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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490. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the circumstance of the closure of a school (details supplied) in Tuam, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53924/22]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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516. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the circumstances of the closure of a montessori (details supplied) in Tuam, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53415/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 490 and 516 together.

The Government is investing significantly in the early learning and childcare sector and there is an ambitious new funding model being introduced to improve stability and sustainability for providers. There are supports, financial and otherwise, available to services who need them. Services are independent operators and may close for a number of reasons. Services that wish to deliver early learning and childcare for the public good will be supported to remain open to do so.

On 15th September, I launched Together for Better, the new funding model for early learning and childcare. This new funding model supports the delivery of early learning and childcare for the public good, for quality and affordability for children, parents and families as well as stability and sustainability for providers. Together for Better brings together three major programmes, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, including the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) and the new Core Funding scheme.

While I note that the service in question has been cited in media reports, I will refrain from disclosing the financial and operational detail of any individual service in this reply. It is however in the public interest that the new funding model is understood and that there is not misleading or inaccurate information circulating and so the information provided in the course of this reply broadly covers issues of relevance.

ECCE-only services across the country form an integral part of the early learning and childcare system. Their exact operations can vary but typically, they open to children for 15 hours per week, 38 weeks per year. The funding model for sessional services is now primarily a combination of the ECCE capitation they receive per child registered with them, (potentially including a top up AIM capitation if there is a staff member with the necessary qualification undertaking an inclusion role, plus additional AIM funding to employ additional staff or reduce adult child ratios if required to support the inclusion of all children), and the Core Funding grant services receive based on the capacity of their service and the qualifications levels of staff, as well as any optional extras they may charge parents.

A significant feature to be aware of is that ECCE subsidies are paid based on the number of children registered in the service. This means that a service’s income could reduce considerably if they do not maintain the number of children attending their service. Core Funding operates alongside ECCE (and NCS) and by contrast to the other funding streams, provides payment in respect of the number of child places rather than based on child registrations or attendance. This intentional and deliberate differentiation of approach in the new funding model means the the Core Funding element of a service's income is a more stable income source that will not fluctuate year on year. This idea of funding capacity is a key new approach in Core Funding, which many providers advocated for through stakeholder consultation during the design of Core Funding. This mixture of supply-side and demand-led public funding provides a welcome balance to the funding model, and assists services who may be experiencing lower than anticipated child registrations for a number of reasons.

Under Core Funding, the overwhelming majority of services will see an increase in their funding, most will see very substantial increases, and no services will see a decrease in funding if their circumstances remain the same. ECCE services without a graduate lead educator will see capitation increase by at least 9.5% through Core Funding. ECCE services with a graduate lead educator will almost all see increases in income, although it may be smaller proportionally given the significant level of funding available under the old funding model. A very small number of services, less than 100 of the over 4,000 signed-up, will see no increase with their income matched to 2021/2022. For this small number of services who do not experience an increase, a Funding Guarantee will apply. This will top-up Core Funding payments to match the difference in ECCE higher capitation and PSP from last year, provided they offer the same amount of graduate led provision as last year. These are larger ECCE-only services – with 20+ children in a session.

Core Funding is distributed in a fair, reasonable and transparent manner that is related to services’ costs of delivery, contributing to both staff costs and non-staff overheads. Consequently, services opening longer hours or offering more places will receive a higher value of Core Funding than other services as they have higher delivery costs. This is connected to the staffing requirements of ELC and SAC as set out in Regulations.

The staffing requirements for ECCE sessions are an adult child ratio of 1:11. The value of Core Funding is weighted in favour of sessional services for 2.5-6 year-olds. ECCE services receive proportionately more than other types of services relative to the staffing requirements of sessional pre-school provision.

Through a combination of Core Funding and ECCE capitation, sessional services can now avail of weekly funding of at least €78.75 per child in ECCE (€69 ECCE capitation plus €9.75 per week in Core Funding base rate). Where a service has less than full occupancy, the funding on a per child basis is even higher.

Core Funding is particularly beneficial to services who have seen significant reductions in child registrations by bolstering their income but it is important to note that Core Funding is intended to be a contribution to a service's income, alongside income from other funding schemes or parental income.

The logic underpinning the funding approach through ECCE and Core Funding is based on the staffing levels required by regulation. Services may choose to operate with staffing levels above the adult child ratio requirements, but it would not be appropriate for additional public funding is provided in these circumstances, save for circumstances of evidenced need as in AIM as this would risk overstaffing and the investment of substantial public money for unfilled places.

Together for Better is about getting the most out of the three early learning and childcare programmes, and ensuring stability and sustainability in the sector. I have been unequivocal that I do not want any services to be faced with financial sustainability issues and I am fully committed to working with any such service to support them in delivering early learning and childcare for the public good.

We are not seeing evidence of a significant lack of sustainability for ECCE-only services or to suggest that services will face closure as a result of Core Funding. Services that are experiencing difficulty and who would like support are encouraged to contact their City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) to access case management supports. Services can be assisted on an individual basis through this route and it also allows for trends and themes across the country to be identified that can inform a more systematic response if necessary.

We are not receiving any indications from CCC that there have been providers reporting financial difficulties and in need of support. This case management process through the CCC is the route to access additional sustainability funding if required.

Data from Tusla on numbers of closures in recent months show that the number of closures this year is broadly in line with other years, and reasons for closure (given to Tusla by providers that have closed) suggests considerable diversity in the reasons for closure. While some services have closed for financial or regulatory reasons, many have closed for other reasons (e.g. retirement of the owner/manager).

As indicated above, I will refrain from commenting publicly on the particulars of this case but I can confirm that Galway CCC has reached out to the service in question to offer support and guidance. For any service that does experience financial difficulties, financial and other supports are available, including a Sustainability Fund. This new strand of the Sustainability Fund, linked to Core Funding, is designed to provide an extra safety net for providers. This will be open to both private and community providers.

To date, with the Core Funding scheme in operation for less than 6 weeks, 93% or well over 4,000 providers have signed up for Core Funding. Already there is very significant evidence of success:

- Core Funding has delivered improved pay and conditions for staff, through enabling Employment Regulation Orders to be agreed by employer and employee representatives in a landmark pay deal for the sector.

- Core Funding has increased affordability for parents with a fee freeze in place and guaranteeing access to NCS subsidies, particularly the extension to the age eligibility for the universal subsidy which became available in August, the value of which will increase substantially from January 2023

- Core Funding offers greater stability and sustainability for providers by substantially increasing the overall investment in the sector, particularly through a supply-side funding approach and in providing funding for spaces rather than participating children.

Due to the level of support provided for the past through years through Covid-19 funding - estimated to be in excess of €1 billion - as well as the recent Transition Fund, many early learning and childcare services are in a strong financial position. Available funding included the Temporary Wage Subsidy Childcare Scheme, Covid-19 capital grants, Reopening Support Payments, Ventilation grants, and Playing Outside Grants, in addition to the very substantial funding through the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme which covered the large majority of the wage bill for most services.

The overwhelming majority of services will benefit substantially from higher funding under Core Funding, supporting their sustainability. The Department, Pobal and the CCC continue to closely monitor trends concerning services entering case management and will continue to maintain the availability of Sustainability Funding for individual services at risk.

Budget 2023 allocates €1.025 billion to early learning and childcare – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector. Together for Better aims to transform the sector and I am committed to working with Partner Services delivering early learning and childcare for the public good.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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491. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the supports that are available to services, either private or community, to support them with financial sustainability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53925/22]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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514. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way in which many early learning and care services have engaged with county childcare committees in relation to financial sustainability in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53413/22]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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517. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the supports that are available to services, either private or community, to support them with financial sustainability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53416/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 491, 514 and 517 together.

Services which have financial or other sustainability concerns can avail of supports through the case management process. My Department oversees this process, through which local City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs) and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to ELC and SAC services experiencing difficulties.

CCCs administer on-the-ground case management assistance, co-ordinated by Pobal. This can include help with completing and interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.

Services can contact their local CCC in the first instance to obtain support in whatever form is appropriate for them. CCCs may also proactively reach out to services in response to becoming aware of an issue.

The medium of engagement will vary on a case by case basis depending on the needs of a service but can entail phone calls, email support or on site visits. I would therefore urge any ELC or SAC service in difficulty to contact their local CCC to access support.

In some instances, financial supports may be appropriate, in tandem with the case management process. Prior to 2020, these financial supports were only available for community (not-for-profit) services presenting with sustainability issues following a financial assessment by Pobal. However, an additional strand of sustainability funding was established to provide support to services requiring it due to the impact of Covid-19 which was open to both private (for-profit) and community (not-for-profit) services.

As a new development to the suite of supports available, a further stand of sustainability funding is being made available to Core Funding partner services, both community and private, who are experiencing financial difficulty. This is part of the partnership relationship with the sector that has been established under the new funding model, Together for Better. As with previous strands of the Sustainability Fund, it will focus on operational as well as financial supports to assist services to manage their immediate difficulties and transition to sustainability. Sustainability funding will provide for a further safety net for partner services who do experience financial difficulty and to assist them for a period of time to allow them to become more sustainable. Given the very substantial additional resourcing that Core Funding is providing to the sector, we do not expect to see much demand for this funding, except for a small number of outlier cases.

Core Funding has now been in operation for six week and the CCCs are not picking up evidence of any sustainability difficulties for any service type or any indications to suggest that services will face closure as a result of Core Funding.

This continues the trend of the last two years or more with very limited call on the strands of sustainability funding, largely due to the very significant investment in the sector through Covid-19 funding arrangements.

Services that are experiencing difficulty and who would like support are encouraged to contact their CCC to access case management supports. Services can be assisted on an individual basis through this route and it also allows for trends and themes across the country to be identified that can inform a more systematic response if necessary. This case management process through the CCCs is the route to access additional sustainability funding if required.