Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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810. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to confirm the additional measures that his Department will take to support childcare workers, to both support those currently working in the sector and to encourage more people into the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39574/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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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.

However, 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. In line with the provisions of the Industrial Relations Acts, the JLC is independent in its functions, and I do not have a role in its statutory processes.

The Employment Regulation Orders published last year were a significant milestone in efforts to improve pay in the sector. 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 further increases in minimum rates of pay.

I am also committed to addressing other 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 ELC and SAC, 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in ELC and SAC.

Nurturing Skills 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.??

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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811. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to confirm the additional supports that his Department will put in place to help crèches and childminding facilities with their costs, in light of the difficulties faced by these facilities recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39575/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Together for Better, the new funding model, is about getting the most out of the three Early Learning and Childcare programmes, ECCE including AIM, NCS and Core Funding, working together and ensuring stability and sustainability in the sector. Together for Better is already delivering substantial benefits for children, parents, staff and providers and I am very proud of the significant achievements in its first year of operation. Investment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels with public funding for the first time reaching more than €1 billion in 2023 for early learning and childcare – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector.

Most childminders are currently outside the scope of public funding supports such as Together for Better as they are, in the main, exempt from registration and most public funding schemes are limited to only Tusla-registered services. My Department is implementing Phase 1 of the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021 – 2028 which will culminate in the removal of the registration exemption, introduction of appropriate and proportionate regulations, and the extension of the National Childcare Scheme and other public funding schemes to childminders.

Core Funding, which began in September 2022, is a new funding scheme worth €259 million in its first full year. One of the key objectives of Core Funding is to support the sector as a whole with the introduction of direct supply-side funding, in addition to ECCE and NCS, to create a more stable and sustainable financial environment.

The primary purposes of Core Funding is to improve pay and conditions in the sector as a whole and improve affordability for parents as well as ensuring a stable income to all early learning and childcare providers.

Core Funding in Year 1 has contributed to services’ sustainability and significantly increased income for the overwhelming majority of services and provides greater funding stability.

For Year 2 of Core Funding, the budget will increase by 11% to reach €287 million, providing a sustainable platform for investment with increases for all services.

The additional funding for Core Funding Year 2 is being allocated as follows:

- €8.47 million towards funding the natural growth of the sector,

- €6.11 million towards non-staff overheads, to support Partner Services with increases to non-staff costs, while maintaining the fee management system,

- €2.2 million towards administrative staff time,

- €4 million towards the removal the year 3 requirement for the Graduates Premiums, underpinned by EROs, and

- €7.22 million for new targeted measures which are aimed at improving the sustainability of smaller and sessional services. These include a flat rate allocation of €4,075 for all sessional-only services, which will benefit approximately 1,700 services delivering ECCE, and a minimum base rate allocation of €8,150, which will benefit small, part time and school-age services.

These decisions were made using the most recent data available to allocate Core Funding for Year 2, with data emerging from current operations of services from March 2023 underpinning the recently announced allocation model, as well as the most up-to-date macroeconomic projections. It was also informed by ongoing engagement with provider representatives and providers of all types, via various specific consultation activities and through various fora, including through the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum.

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. There are supports, financial and otherwise, available to services who need them.

Sustainability funding is available to Partner Services, community and private, who are experiencing financial difficulty. Partner Services can be assisted through the case management route to ensure their services remain sustainable under Together for Better.

I strongly encourages services which are experiencing financial difficulty, and would like support to contact their City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) to access case management supports. Services can be assisted on an individual basis through this route.