Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The availability of high-quality early learning and childcare is a key Government priority. The Department monitors early learning and childcare capacity on an ongoing basis, with a particular focus on responding to the unmet early learning and childcare needs of families.

The annual data captured by Pobal on behalf of my Department - through the Early Years Sector Profile Survey - is one important data source that allows us to monitor supply and demand. In addition to this survey data, the Department also relies on data from the register of services held by Tusla, data provided by services as part of their application for Core Funding and has also conducted several surveys with parents. Since 2020, five parent surveys have been undertaken by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of the Department.

Data captured from the 2021/22 iteration of the Early Years Sector Profile, indicated that the vacancy rate in Dublin City is 15% and is 16% on average across the country. This data does not take account of increases in capacity since the introduction of Core Funding. Data collection for the 2022/23 Early Years Sector Profile is currently underway and will give an updated position.

A series of steps are being taken to address issues of undersupply.

The network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees across the country are in a position to match children and families to services operating with vacant places and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.

Under the National Action Plan for Childminding, there is a commitment to open up access to the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) to parents who use childminders following the extension of regulation to childminders.

Some €70m has been allocated to my Department through the revised National Development Plan (NDP) – with the majority of this funding earmarked for new places.

My Department, in partnership with the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government, is in the process of updating the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings. As part of this work, my Department has been included in the updated list of prescribed bodies that need to be notified on certain planning matters, including the formulation of County Development Plans and Local Area Plans.

In addition, Core Funding - introduced in September 2022 - has already proven to be effective in expanding capacity, particularly in areas of undersupply and additional funding secured in Budget 2023 for year two of Core Funding provides further opportunity to invest in an additional 3% growth in capacity.

Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) for assistance. Contact details for CCCs may be found on www.myccc.ie

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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153. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is satisfied with the adequacy of the investigative powers of Pobal where a breach of the core funding model is reported; his views on the procedure which is in place; and his plans to strengthen investigative and remedial mechanisms in place for alleged breaches of the core funding model. [26633/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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There are currently more than 4,200 Partner Services participating in Core Funding – representing 95% of all eligible services.

These services must operate in line with the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.

Regarding fees, Partner Services must uphold their contractual obligations regarding Fee Management as laid out in this Agreement. In its first year, Partner Services must not increase the fees charged to parents from those charged in September 2021. An increased charge of any kind for an existing and unchanged Service Type will be in breach of Core Funding rules.

In its first year of operation, City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs), Pobal, and my Department are operating a Core Funding Fee Review process whereby any person can seek to have a potential breach regarding Fee Management examined and a conclusion reached. Further guidance on Fee Management and the Core Funding Fee Review Process can be found here: first5fundingmodel.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Together-for-Better-Guidelines-on-Fee-Management-7.pdf.

Where a determination is made of a breach regarding Fee Management, a Partner Service must provide evidence of remedy of that breach within 30 working days. Failure to do so may result in the termination of the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.

I would encourage any parent with concerns or questions about fees to contact their local CCC for support and guidance or to initiate a Core Funding Fee Review. The first point of contact for parents and providers on fee issues is their local CCC.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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154. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures his Department has undertaken to alleviate the pressures of the recruitment and retention crisis in the childcare sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26701/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I acknowledge that many early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services report staffing difficulties in relation to recruitment and retention. In general, staffing pressures in the sector are caused not by insufficient supply of qualified personnel, but by high levels of staff turnover.

However, providers of ELC and SAC are private businesses. As the State does not employ staff in ELC and SAC services, neither I nor my Department can set wage levels or determine working conditions for staff in the sector.

Recruitment and retention difficulties are undoubtedly linked to pay and conditions. There is now, through the independent Joint Labour Committee (JLC) process, a formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates for different roles in ELC and SAC services.

On 15 September 2022, two Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Services, negotiated through the JLC, came into effect, providing for minimum hourly rates of pay for various roles in ELC and SAC services.

The Orders are being supported by Core Funding – which has an allocation of €259 million in its first year – to support amongst other things, improvements in staff wages, alongside a commitment to freeze parental fees and support for sustainability of services. As announced in Budget 2023, the Core Funding allocation will increase by €28 million for the second year.

I understand that the JLC for Early Years Services is continuing to meet in relation to possible future pay negotiations.

I am also committed to addressing other challenges which may impact on the recruitment and retention of staff in the sector. In December 2021, I published "Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for ELC and SAC, 2022-2028". Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in the sector. One of the five "pillars" of Nurturing Skills 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.