Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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1228. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth her views on the need to improve pay, terms and conditions within the childcare sector in order to attract and retain staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30372/25]

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. The level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners does not reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy.

However, the State is not an employer of staff and neither I, nor my Department, set pay or working conditions.

The Joint Labour Committee process is the formal mechanism by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates for the sector.

Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by Government through Core Funding, which has seen its allocation increase from €259 million in year 1 to €350 million for the coming programme year 2025/2026.

An additional €45 million has been ringfenced in the coming programme year to support employers meet the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay conditional on updated Employment Regulation Orders.

I acknowledge the Joint Labour Committee is independent in its functions, and I do not have a role in its statutory negotiation processes

I recently met with Joint Labour Committee representatives, to acknowledge the Committee's important role and to outline the Government’s continued support for the sector as a whole and, as outlined in the Programme for Government, for the Joint Labour Committee process.

I outlined to representatives that Government expects the funding secured to support the costs of increased minimum pay rates is used for its intended purpose and that any new Employment Regulation Orders would utilise the full amount available.

My Department continues to implement 'Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare.

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 upskill 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.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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1229. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the staff turnover rate in early learning and care services in 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, in each local authority area, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30373/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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1230. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the annual staff turnover rate in community early learning and care services in 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 in each local authority area, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30374/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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1231. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the staff turnover rate in private early learning and care services in 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 in each Local Authority area, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30375/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1229, 1230 and 1231 together.

I acknowledge that many early learning and care and school-age childcare services report staffing challenges in relation to recruitment and retention. In general, these staffing pressures in the sector are caused not by insufficient supply of qualified personnel, but by high levels of staff turnover.

The most recent published data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile Survey shows staff turnover for the sector is at 24.5%, however it is estimated at approximately 1/3 of staff leaving services are doing so to move to another service. Notwithstanding this, the data from that survey also shows that the workforce in the sector continues to grow, increasing by 8% over a 12-month period.

Pay is one of a number of issues impacting these staffing levels, however the State is not an employer of staff and neither I, nor my Department, set wage rates or working conditions.

The Joint Labour Committee process is the formal mechanism by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates for early learning and care services, which are set down in law through Employment Regulation Orders.

Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by Government through Core Funding, which has seen its allocation increase from €259 million in year 1 to €350 million for the coming programme year 2025/2026.

An additional €45 million has been ringfenced in the coming programme year to support employers meet the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay conditional on updated Employment Regulation Orders.

A longer-term workforce strategy for the sector is in place: "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 the sector. One of the five "pillars" of Nurturing Skills comprises commitments aimed at supporting recruitment, retention and diversity in the workforce, and it includes actions to raise the profile of careers in the sector.

The Annual Early Years Sector Profile reports increases in the number of services (contracted to a state scheme) from 4,435 (in 2021/2022) to 4,483 (in 2022/2023) and to 4,614 (in 2023/2024). The data also shows an increase in sector staff from 34,357 (2021/2022) to 37,060 (2022/2023) and to 39,316 (2023/2024).

The below tables show average staff turnover rates for early learning and care services for the programme years 2021/22, 2022/2023 nationally and broken down by community and private providers.

Data for year 2023/2024 on turnover is not yet available but is expected to be published.

The data relates to both early learning and care and school age childcare because of the large number of services that provide both early learning and care and school age childcare.

Staff turnover rate (All).

Staff turnover rate (Community providers)

Staff turnover rate (Private providers)

•These data are taken from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile survey and relate to all Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare services participating in one or more Department of Children, Disability and Equality funding programmes and schemes.

• Response rates were: 82.4% (2021/22), 88.6% (2022/23)

•Data for 2023/24 is not included but will be made public soon.