Longford County Childcare Committee welcomes the positive steps the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has negotiated on behalf of the Early Years Sector.
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Full second year of ECCE free pre-school introduced
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7% increase in capitation for Early Years providers
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Enhanced quality measures for inspections and sustainability
Lorraine Farrell, Manager of Longford County Childcare Committee, has welcomed the additional funding of €73m for children, youth services and families, bringing the total investment by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to €1.38 billion for 2018. “This represents a very positive step in the right direction in ensuring access to high quality, affordable childcare and education. It provides a second year of ECCE free pre-school scheme, with an emphasis on quality, and also takes the first initial steps in recognising the importance of improved conditions for our Early Years workforce. She goes on to note that “further investment in the sector is needed as it takes a highly skilled and trained professional to adequately meet the vastly complex developmental needs of young children and their families.” Ms. Farrell applauded “the increased investment in early years for 2018 and is hopeful that this trend of increasing investment year on year will continue.”
Alongside the extension of ECCE, Minister Katherine Zappone announced that the capitation paid to Early Years providers for the delivery of ECCE will increase by 7% from September 2018. Minister Zappone said that she had listened to providers who told her that the existing capitation levels did not allow them pay their staff appropriately. The Minister said:
The wages in the early years sector are low and do not support the recruitment and retention of high quality staff. I hope the increase in capitation I am announcing today will assist employers to improve conditions for their staff. I am aware it is not something that can be sorted overnight but I believe it is a step in the right direction. The Independent Review of the Cost of delivering Quality Childcare which I have commissioned will assist me in seeking more investment for childcare providers over the coming years if this is independently proven to be required.
Minister Zappone also announced investment to continue the childcare affordability measures she introduced last month. These affordability measures are already, in the first six weeks of the schemes opening, benefitting 45,000 children, with 24,000 of these registered so far for the universal under-3 scheme, and 21,000 registered for the targeted schemes. The additional funding will ensure that the door remains open for further children and families to register and benefit from these subsidies throughout 2018.
In conjunction with this measure, Minister Zappone has secured additional funding to ensure that providers are paid for the administration associated with these schemes on an annual basis. A total of €18m will be available in 2018 and thereafter to pay providers for the administration associated with these schemes and the ECCE scheme.
A total of €2.3m was also secured for a range of initiatives including to further enhance the Early Years Inspection regime and to further address sustainability concerns being expressed by some community providers.
Minister Zappone said:
Today is another milestone for Early Years Care and Education. High quality, accessible and affordable early years care and education benefits children, our society and our economy. The additional funding I have secured represents another big step and I am committed to continuing to seek the investment children, parents and providers need and deserve. We must continue to invest in our children and the Early Years workforce and I am delighted that, for two Budgets in a row, I have been able to take significant steps in this regard.
