Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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517. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he plans to meet with an organisation (details supplied) regarding the issues of capitation and core funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59367/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I last met with the Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP) on 28th November, following several offers to meet on the condition that the closures of the ECCE programme, which the FECP are coordinating, were suspended. While only a small proportion of providers took part in closures on 11 November, it caused significant disruption to children and families using these services. Therefore, I am pleased that the FECP agreed to cancel the closure – planned for 25th November - and instead meet with me and my Officials.

The purpose of this meeting was to find a common understanding of their issues and a pathway to resolve them. I consider this engagement to be positive and in keeping with the very significant levels of engagement I have had with this organisation, and others, as I introduce a transformative new funding model.

The new funding model, Together for Better, 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. It has introduced a fee freeze for parents, supported the Employment Regulation Order for staff, and a stable income source for providers based on child places offered, whether filled or not, that does not fluctuate in line with child registrations.

Early learning and childcare services are diverse. I am delighted that to date, 94% - well over 4,100 - providers have signed up for the new funding model. While it is my ambition to have as high take-up as possible, at this moment in time 6% of early learning and childcare services, representing less than 300 services, have chosen not to join Core Funding.

While the large majority of representative groups and individual providers have embraced Core Funding, and the overwhelming majority of providers benefit financial from Core Funding, the FECP has raised concerns for small, sessional services they represent.

To date, the sector level data available to my Officials has not indicated widespread financial viability issues connected to these services. Likewise, my Officials have not seen other indications, such as increased closures or call on sustainability funding, to indicate financial viability issues for small, sessional services. However, I have been unequivocal that I do not want any services to be faced with financial sustainability issues and am fully committed to working with these services to support them in delivering early learning and childcare for the public good.

To address the concerns of small, sessional services, the Federation of Early Childhood Providers have called for an increase for the ECCE capitation to €76 at a cost of €30million. However, this is not a targeted solution to the issue they present. Moreover, with Core Funding and ECCE, there is already at least €78.75 per child per week available, with additional funding for graduate lead educators and graduate managers as well as AIM capitation and AIM Level 7 income where applicable.

Core Funding is a very significant new injection of funding into the sector and I have secured an increase in the Core Funding envelope for year two of operation (September 2023-August 2024) of €28 million (11% increase), the precise allocation of which will be determined by evidence and analysis emerging from year one of the operation of the scheme.

I have been clear that any developments to schemes and underpinning policy must be evidence based.

Given the concerns raised by the small, sessional services represented by FEPC, and in order to provide additional timely and robust data in preparation for developments to Core Funding in year 2, I will be undertaking an independent review of the financial viability of small, sessional services.

The review will involve services volunteering to participate in the research project that aims to gather evidence on financial viability to underpin policy development and possible targeted measures through the new funding model.

I am fully committed to working with sectoral representative groups and providers to support them in delivering early learning and childcare for the public good and hope we can work constructively, collaboratively and positively towards this goal.