Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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652. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated full-year cost of increasing the spending on childcare to 1% of GDP. [24081/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Over the past eight budgets, investment in Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) has risen from €260 million in 2015 to € 1.25 billion in 2023, reaching the First 5 investment target 5 years ahead of time. Despite this progress, investment in the area remains low by international standards.

In their latest calculation, the OECD report Ireland spends 0.3% of GDP on ELC compared to the OECD average of 0.8%. This calculation for Ireland excludes spending on children under 6 that are in primary school.

In 2022, Ireland’s GDP was €474 billion. To increase spending to 1% of GDP, equalling €4.7 billion, an additional investment of €3.7 billion would be necessary.

Although investment in ELC remains low, it is important to note that GDP is a misleading indicator in the Irish context. The OECD emphasises that, in the Irish context, “one should rely on other indicators” as GDP gives an inaccurate indicator of the country’s economic health.

A modified GNI was recommended by the Economic Statistics Review Group as a more useful comparator. This is designed to exclude globalisation effects that are disproportionally impacting the measurement of the size of the Irish economy. Figures on Ireland’s modified GNI in 2022 are not yet available however in 2021, Ireland’s modified GNI was €234 billion. To increase spending to 1% of modified GNI in 2021, equalling €2.3 billion, an additional investment of €1.3 billion would be necessary.

The First 5Strategy commit the Government to at least doubling public spending on ELC and SAC by 2028. This target has already been reached, five years ahead of schedule. I am committed to continuing to increasing State funding for ELC and SAC part of a multi-annual budget process.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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653. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated full-year cost of providing free childcare for all children under five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24082/23]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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654. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated full-year cost of providing free afterschool childcare for all children in primary school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24083/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 653 and 654 together.

Significant investment is being made by my Department to support parents with the costs of paying for Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) and to support providers with the costs of delivering ELC and SAC.

To respond directly on the cost of free Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) for all children under 5 and for all primary school children.

CSO population estimates shows that there were 301.7k children under 5 in Ireland in April 2022. To derive an estimated cost of funding ELC for these children, the following assumptions are made: ELC is availed of on a full time basis, 52 weeks per year. The estimated cost uses the average weekly rate for a full time place, as reported in the Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2020/21 (i.e. €187). Based on these assumptions, funded ELC for all children under 5 would cost €2.9 billion per annum (or €9,724 per child).

Department of Education preliminary enrolment rates for 2022/203 show there were 558,133 enrolments in Primary schools. To derive an estimated cost of funding after school care for these children, the following assumptions are made: After-school care is availed of in-term only (i.e. 38 weeks per year) for 4 hours per day and 5 days per week. The estimated cost uses the average hourly rate charged for after-school care, as reported in the Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2020/21 (i.e. €5.25). Based on these assumptions, funded after-school care for all primary school children would cost €2.2 billion per annum (or €3,990 per child).

It is worth noting these costs do not capture the nuances of delivering ELC and SAC including supply and demand or other funding complexities such as quality and improved pay and conditions for the workforce.

Information is not captured in relation to parental choice in terms of uptake, therefore costings assume full uptake for all eligible children based on the hours set out above. It is important to note this does not capture parental choice where take up of hours would not be 100%, particularly in relation to after-school, nor does it capture some families wish to avail out of term supports.

The figures above also do not account for the National Childcare Scheme and the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme currently supporting thousands of families to offset their costs, or the developments underway through Core Funding and investment in the new funding model.

I am confident that the new funding model being implemented, with fee management through Core Funding, in tandem with developments and investment in the NCS and ECCE, will together deliver improved affordability, quality, sustainability and accessibility of ELC and SAC.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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655. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated full cost moving to a fully publicly-run childcare service; the estimated time needed to achieve that; the estimated cost in year one; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24084/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Programme for Government contains a number of commitments for early learning and childcare, including reforming the system to create one that brings together the best of community and private provision and the development of a new funding model for affordable, accessible, sustainable and high quality Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC).

An Expert Group was established in September 2019 to develop a new funding model for the Early Learning and Childcare sector. Under their terms of reference, the Expert Group was not asked to propose changes to the current model of delivery (i.e. privately-operated provision), rather that the Group should seek to further achieve policy objectives of quality, affordability, accessibility and contributing to addressing disadvantage in a privately-operated system through increased public funding and public management.

In December 2021, Government approved the 25 recommendations contained in the Expert Group report, Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare.The recommendations were accepted in full by Government and implementation of this new funding model is well underway.

Of the 25 recommendations, three are grouped under the title 'Role of the State'. In particular, the final recommendation states that, “[I]n the medium term, the Minister should mandate the Department to examine whether some element of public provision should be introduced alongside private provision.”

Taken together, these recommendations reflect a key theme of the report, which is the importance of strengthened State involvement and enhanced public management in the sector, in conjunction with increased State funding. In September 2022, I launched Together for Better, the new funding model for early learning and childcare that supports the delivery of early learning and childcare for the public good. 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. A fourth programme – the Equal Participation Model is under development.

The new funding model being implemented aims to transform the sector to one that is increasingly publicly funded and publicly managed. This is the start of a multi-annual investment plan – with investment this year exceeding €1 billion – achieving the First 5 investment target five years ahead of time. Full implementation of all recommendations, including recommendation 25, which would likely involve an estimate of cost and timeline for delivery of a portion of public provision, will be progressed in the coming years as additional funding is secured through the annual Estimates process.

Together for Better begins a journey that I am confident will see exceptional standards of early learning and childcare achieved, delivering Government commitments in Partnership for the Public Good, expanding the sector and growing capacity through public management and investment, and ensuring positive outcomes for children, their families, and society overall.