Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2023
551. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his attention has been drawn to the issues facing a childcare provider (details supplied) as regards core funding not matching inflation rates; to detail what measures he will be taking to ensure childcare providers, such as this, remain in operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42576/23]
View answerInvestment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels with public funding for the first time reaching more than €1 billion in 2023– a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector.
The overwhelming majority of this funding is allocated through Together for Better, the new funding model, which comprises the ECCE programme including AIM, the NCS and Core Funding.
One of the key objectives of Core Funding is to support the sector as a whole with the introduction of direct supply-side funding, in addition to the ECCE programme and the NCS, to create a more stable and sustainable financial environment.
Core Funding in Year 1 – with an overall allocation of €259 million contributed to services’ sustainability and significantly increased income for the overwhelming majority of services while providing greater funding stability.
For Year 2 of Core Funding, the budget has increased by 11% to reach €287 million, providing a sustainable platform for investment with increases for all services.
The additional funding for Core Funding Year 2 is being allocated as follows:
• €8.47 million towards funding the natural growth of the sector,
• €6.11 million towards non-staff overheads, to support services with increases to non-staff costs, while maintaining the fee management system,
• €2.2 million towards administrative staff time,
• €4 million towards the removal the year 3 requirement for the Graduates Premiums, underpinned by EROs, and
• €7.22 million for new targeted measures which are aimed at improving the sustainability of smaller and sessional services. These include a flat rate allocation of €4,075 for all sessional-only services, which will benefit approximately 1,700 services delivering ECCE, and a minimum base rate allocation of €8,150, which will benefit small, part time and school-age services.
Special supports are available from my Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, accessed through local City or County Childcare Committee (CCC). This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.
I would encourage any service experiencing financial difficulty and who would like support to contact their City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) to access case management supports.
