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Today, a child is born in Ireland who in five years’ time will enter primary school and will be guaranteed their place in the education system until they complete their Leaving Cert. What happens between now and then however, is uncertain.
They may get a space in the local creche, they may not. They can get free pre-school education through ECCE but they could have to travel quite a distance for that space. What is certain though is childcare costs will be high.
Last week, in the first instalment of this series on childcare in rural Ireland, Irish Country Living presented the current situation facing parents.
With childcare costs exceeding €1,100 in some areas of the country, cost and access to childcare facilities is still, in 2022 forcing parents (mostly women) out of the workforce.
Families are stressed and stretched to bridge the gap between maternity leave and children entering education, during these formative years of their lives.
Ireland is still considered “bottom of the class” when it comes to early childcare, according to OECD levels. There have been calls to the government for years to invest in the sector to bring us more in line with our European counterparts.
In 2021, there was a breakthrough. Budget 2022 marked a “turning point” in the State’s approach to the early years and childcare sector. And last December, Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman announced the details of that investment with a government commitment to double funding based on 2018 expenditure from €485million to €970million by 2028.
In conversation with Irish Country Living, Minister O’Gorman sets out the plans for this funding. He says, “Looking back over the past two years, one of the positives we took away from the pandemic is a much greater recognition of the importance of childcare and early learning for society, for the economy, for parents and most importantly, for children.
We finally recognise that we need to pay childcare professionals properly and we also need to reduce the very high fees that parents have to pay.
“What I am trying to achieve is to make childcare affordable, accessible and ensure it’s of really high quality, those are the three key aspects. Accessibility, affordability and quality.”
Quality Care
Looking first at the pillar of quality, that focus will be put on paying childcare providers properly ensuring better continuity of care. The funding that the Minister announced in December breaks down to €221 million a year (called Core Funding).
Out of that, €138 million per year will be focused on pay. A Joint Labour Committee (JLC) has been established bringing together representatives of childcare workers, the unions and representatives of the employers.
The Minister says, “The JLC has just established an ERO (Employment Regulation Order) and if that is agreed, it will mean a €13 per hour entry wage for all childcare professionals when they enter the profession.” The Minister outlines that the rate is above the living wage but not by much as the current living wage stands at €12.90. This is due to be delivered by September.
We ask the Minister what the long-term career plan is for childcare professionals. Will they receive incremental pay rises in the same way teachers do? He replies, “The first ERO is focused on a basic entry level wage.
The JLC is an independent process so I am removed from that but my understanding is that they are now looking at a number of rates for positions such as room leader, deputy manager and then for graduate rates. We are hoping there will be a second ERO that will set a scale of wages. I think that will be important in terms of providing a clear pathway on the financial side.
“Core Funding will deliver stability for staff and retention and that will deliver better quality. The other thing it will do is it will help stop rooms shutting. The reason many childcare providers have to shut rooms is because they don’t have staff. Core Funding incentivises the opening of new childcare rooms, particularly baby rooms for under 12 months, and that’s an area where there is a shortfall.”
Accessibility
This brings us to the issue of accessibility. Last week in Irish Country Living, we published the details of our childcare survey which reflected the views of 270 readers. Within our readers’ comments, parents spoke of some creches not having availability to take their baby until the end of 2024.
The Minister says, “We have a capital program that will be launched over the next two years, working to develop and finance new childcare centres around the country.”
Accessibility and flexibility are also issues that are closely linked. While there are government schemes such as parents and parental leave which allow for parents to take time off to spend with their children, this is often not accommodated in creches, quite simply because they cannot afford to give a reduction in fees.
Minister O’Gorman explains how Core Funding will work differently to the current model. He says, “Currently, funding is given based on how many children are in a service.
Core Funding is based however, on the capacity of a service. This means that if a service has capacity for 10 children and only eight spaces are taken up, it’s not punished because there are empty spaces.
I’m hoping as services become more familiar with this model and the way it operates, that focus on capacity rather than the actual number of children will encourage them to introduce greater degrees of flexibility.”
Affordability
However, the big question on many parents’ lips is, how will this funding benefit me and reduce the high fees we pay?
“In order for childcare providers to avail of this new funding, they must agree that they won’t increase their fees, over what they were in September 2021. This is the first time we have put a mechanism to cap fees.
“Right now, 92% of childcare providers have signed up to a transitional funding scheme which is in place between now and when Core Funding is introduced in September. I believe this is a good indication of the take up of Core Funding and the number of families that will benefit from this pay freeze.
“I’ve also made it clear that in Budget 2023, I’ll be looking for significant additional funding through the NCS, the National Childcare Scheme. We want to make a really meaningful cut in fees through the scheme.”
When asked if he could get an indication of figures, the Minister replied, “It’s a bit early to give direct figures but I’m looking for a substantial reduction in childcare costs for all parents, across the country.
“We already made some increases to the NCS in Budget 2022 which will kick in in September. Right now, the scheme benefits parents with children up until the age of three but that will be extended to children under 15, benefitting up to 40,000 children at a cost of €5 million.
“I think this is a recognition of the very high cost of living right now.”
Read more
We get the reaction from the opposition and those working within early childhood care.
Visit Reaction to Core Funding
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