Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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515. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if any consideration is being given to reducing ratio requirements in childcare/early years education/ECCE settings in certain circumstances to alleviate the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3963/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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516. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if any consideration is being given to reducing ratio requirements in childcare/early years education/ECCE settings in certain circumstances to alleviate the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector, with specific reference to Irish-language centres/naíonraí and the particular challenges therein; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3964/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 515 and 516 together.

In setting regulatory requirements, the primary consideration must be children’s health, safety and well-being.

The minimum adult-to-child ratios for pre-school services are set out in Schedule 6 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. School age services' adult-to-child ratios are set out in Regulation 9 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018. The ratios are the minimum number of adults required to supervise, care for and work directly with the children in the service.

These minimum adult-child ratios as set out in the regulations are broadly in line with the minimum adult-child ratios across other countries in Europe according to the most recent (2025) edition of the Eurydice / European Commission report on 'Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe'.

In line with the commitment in the First 5: Implementation Plan 2023-2025 (action D.2.A.5), the Department has commenced the process of drafting comprehensive regulations for school-age childcare (SAC) services, building on the initial 2018 registration regulations. As part of this process, the Department is also reviewing the legislation underpinning the regulation of SAC.

I acknowledge that many early learning and care (ELC) and SAC services report staffing challenges 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.

Pay is one of a number of issues impacting staffing levels. As the State is not the employer of staff in the sector, 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 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 early learning and care and school-age childcare services.

Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by the Government through the Core Funding scheme, which has an allocation for this programme year alone of €287 million and will again increase this allocation by a further 15%, for the third year of the scheme, to €331 million. In Budget 2025, an additional €15m was secured specifically to support employers meet the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay. This allocation, which is conditional on Employment Regulation Order being negotiated by the Joint Labour Committee, translates into full year costs of €45 million for programme year 2025/2026.

First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families, recognises that the workforce is at the heart of high-quality early learning and care. The evidence suggests children achieve better outcomes when staff are well qualified. This is undisputed internationally.

Under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, all staff working directly with children in a pre-school service must hold at least a Level 5 major award in early childhood care and education on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), or a qualification that has been deemed to be equivalent. This regulation ensures that all staff have a solid foundation in child development, early childhood education, child health and welfare, and practical experience through supervised practicum placements which, in turn, helps to create a consistent and high-quality early learning environment for children in services nationally.

Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028 which was launched in December 2021 aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in ELC and SAC. It contains a range of commitments to raise the profile of careers in the sector and to support recruitment, retention and diversity in the workforce.

I acknowledge that Irish-medium early learning and care (ELC) and SAC services face specific challenges. In line with the commitments in the 5 Year Action Plan on the Irish language, my Department is working in collaboration with other relevant Departments and agencies to develop a comprehensive plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the ELC and SAC sector. A survey of Irish-medium ELC/SAC settings including childminders was undertaken in 2022- 2023 to obtain a baseline of the current level of Irish-medium provision in the sector. In addition, a programme of research and a public consultation took place in 2024. These various data and information sources are informing the work of an Advisory Group which has been established to support the drafting of the Comprehensive Plan. It is intended that the Plan will be published in 2025.