Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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329. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to address the urgent need to increase the wages of early childhood educators (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21872/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Pay is one of a number of issues impacting the early learning and care and school-age childcare workforce. 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.

There is however a formal mechanism established, in the independent Early Years Services Joint Labour Committee, where employer and employee representatives can negotiate terms and conditions of employment including minimum pay rates for different roles in the sector.

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 (2024/2025) of €331 million.

In Budget 2025, an additional €15 million was secured specifically to support employers meet the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay. This allocation, which is conditional on updated Employment Regulation Orders being negotiated by the Joint Labour Committee, translates into a full year allocation of €45 million for programme year 2025/2026.

In line with the Programme for Government I am committed to continuing to implement Employment Regulation Orders to attract and retain early years educators.

My Department also continues to implement, Nurturing Skills, The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare and to raise the profile of careers in the sector. It includes a career framework and commitments to support early years educators to up-skill and develop their careers. It also includes commitments to reduce staff turnover, to attract graduates to enter and remain in the sector along with actions to actively promote careers in Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare sector.