Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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644. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the cost to the State of assuming the current wage bill for early years educators, lead educators, graduate lead educators, deputy managers, and managers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43054/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As the State does not employ staff in ELC and SAC services, neither I nor the 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 terms and conditions of employment including minimum pay rates for different roles in ELC and SAC services.

Outputs from the JLC process has seen two increases in minimum rates of pay for roles in the sector and positively impacting over 70% and 50% of the workforce respectively.

Based on 2024 data supplied by Partner Services taking part in the Core Funding scheme and extrapolated to represent all services in the sector, the estimated employer costs for staff working in services (excluding ancillary staff) is approximately €956 million. This cost includes employer costs such as PRSI, Sick Pay, Holiday pay etc and is the estimated cost of assuming the current wage bill for the sector.

In relation to the estimates above, the following should be noted:

• The cost estimates are based on staff who had an hourly wage recorded in service providers’ submissions for Core Funding, but the Core Funding data has been extrapolated to provide an estimate for all staff working in the sector.

• Cost estimates are based on the most recent data available to the Department, which was provided by service providers in May 2024, this data was provided prior to the new EROs for Early Years Services came into force on June 24th.

• Calculations are there based on minimum rates of pat set out in the initial ERO which came into effect in September 2022.

• Calculations are based on wage-data available at a point in time. Some services may have increased wages more recently, which would reduce the cost to services of moving from current wage-rates to the proposed wage rates in the question.

• The cost estimates only relate to staff and managers covered by the current EROs, i.e. the estimates exclude the cost of ancillary staff.

• The cost estimates do not attempt to account for the potential cost implications for the wages of staff who are currently earning more than the increased rates above current ERO minimum rates.

• The figure does not take into account the income currently received by those working in the sector who are self-employed and who derive their income from profits rather than wages.