Written answers
Monday, 11 September 2023
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Early Childhood Care and Education
Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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1441. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth given that a number of early years service and creche closures is due to retirement, if he will commission a task force to deal with this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38581/23]
Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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There is considerable diversity in the reasons given for closure by providers. While some services have closed due to retirement, many have closed for other reasons. So far in 2023, 10 ELC services and no standalone SAC services have listed retirement as the reason for closure. The data on reasons for closure so far in 2023 can be seen in the tables below.
It is important to note with this data that the reasons given for closures are all ‘self-declared’ by the provider and collated from the cessations forms they submitted to Tusla. This information is not formally verified by Tusla. Providers may list more than one reason for closure, which explains why the number of reasons given does not match to the number of closures.
| ELC Reasons for Closure | Number of Services |
|---|---|
| No reason Given | 13 |
| Personal Reasons | 6 |
| Not financially viable | 14 |
| Rental Agreement Expired | 7 |
| School Room Taken Back | 2 |
| Business moving premises | 1 |
| Unable to attain fire safety compliance | 2 |
| Reduction in child numbers | 9 |
| Retirement | 10 |
| Building conditions | 1 |
| Temporary closure | 1 |
| Unable to source staff | 7 |
| Total | 73 |
| Standalone SAC Reasons for Closure | Number of Services |
|---|---|
| No reason Given | 13 |
| Personal reasons | 2 |
| Not financially viable | 4 |
| Rental Agreement Expired | 1 |
| School Room Taken Back | 1 |
| Reduction in child numbers | 3 |
| Business ceased | 1 |
| Covid 19 | 1 |
| Building Conditions | 1 |
| Unable to source staff | 1 |
| Total | 28 |
The State does not employ staff in Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) services, and as a result neither I nor my Department can set wage levels or determine working conditions for staff in the sector. For this reason, I am not planning on commissioning a task force. However, I am committed to addressing challenges which may impact on the recruitment and retention of staff in the sector.
In line with commitments in First 5, in December 2021, I launched Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC), 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in ELC and SAC. The Plan includes specific actions for moving to a graduate-led ELC workforce by 2028, establishing a career framework for staff working in the ELC and SAC sector, including role profiles and qualification requirements, and the strengthening of career pathways. Nurturing Skills also includes actions to support the recruitment and retention of staff with the necessary qualifications, and ongoing staff training and development, to create a workforce which feels valued and is motivated to deliver the best possible service to children.
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