Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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1538. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on required staffing levels for education centres such as play schools and creches; and to outline any plans to attract additional qualified staff to County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59115/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In setting regulatory requirements for early years services, the primary consideration must be children’s health, safety and well-being.

The minimum adult-to-child ratios for preschool services are set out in Schedule 6 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. The ratios set the maximum number of children allowed per staff member working directly with the children, and services can choose to have fewer children per staff member if they wish.

The minimum required ratios of adults to children in preschool services for full-day care or part-time provision are: 1:3 for children under 1 year old; 1:5 for children aged between 1 and 2 years old; 1:6 for 2 year olds; and 1:8 for preschool children aged between 3 and 6.

For children in sessional (less than 3.5 hours) preschool provision who are aged between 2 years 6 months and 6 years old, there is a minimum adult-child ratio of 1:11. This sessional minimum ratio of 1:11 applies to children participating in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, for which the eligible age group is children between 2 year 8 months and 5 year 6 months. There are no plans at present to revise the minimum adult-to-child ratios for preschool services.

School age childcare (SAC) services are required to operate within regulatory minimum adult-to-child ratios as set out in the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018. The minimum required ratio of adults to children in SAC services is 1:12. The 1:12 ratio was agreed following consultation with an expert group on SAC standards, which included a range of sectoral representatives among its members.

In line with the commitment in the First 5: Implementation Plan 2023-2025 (action D.2.A.5), the Department has recently commenced the process of drafting comprehensive regulations for 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. The Department recently concluded a public consultation which included questions on the adult-to-child ratios.

Childminding-specific Regulations came into effect in September 2024, and are designed to be proportionate and appropriate to the home and family setting in which childminders work. These Regulations ensure there are no more than 6 children in the care of the childminder at any given time, with no more than 2 children under the age of 15 months.

It is acknowledged many early learning and childcare services report recruitment and retention challenges. In general, these challenges are not caused by insufficient supply of staff, but by high levels of turnover.

In a very competitive labour market and with low levels of unemployment, recruitment and retention is a challenge for all employers.

Improvements in pay is certainly key to improving recruitment and retention rates, as is the full implementation of Nurturing Skills.

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.

Although the Government is the primary funder of the sector, it is not the employer and cannot directly set wages or conditions.

The Joint Labour Committee is the formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates, which are set down in Employment Regulation Orders.

Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by Government through Core Funding. In this programme year 2025/26 Core Funding has increased by 6% to €350 million with an additional €45 million in ring-fenced Core Funding provided to support early learning and care services in meeting the increased cost of minimum pay rates in the sector.

As recently announced, the Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail Alan Dillon has signed new Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Educators and School-Age Practitioners.

The Orders commenced on 13 October 2025. They provide for an average of 10% increase to minimum hourly rates of pay. It is estimated that 67% of those working in the sector will see their wages increase as a result of the new minimum pay rates.

The Government remains committed to ‘continue to implement Employment Regulation Orders to attract and retain early years educators’, as provided for in the Programme for Government.

"Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028" 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 Plan includes role profiles, 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.

Officials also continue to discuss issues of recruitment and retention with stakeholders through a Sub-Group of the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum.

The general consensus of the Group is that pay is the single biggest issue but the Group continues to identify other actions, including:

* a Student Fast-track Process for recognition of studies to work in service out of term,

* the assessment of unfinished qualifications, where people who may have started a relevant qualification but did not get to finish it, can have what they completed assessed for meeting qualification requirements

* an agreement to promote careers in the sector.