Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for the invitation to the launch of Early Childhood Ireland's
Doing the Sums: The Real Cost of Providing Childcare in Ireland.
At the outset let me say that we are gathering during what is an important
time for the sector.
After years of campaigning the issues related to childcare are now the
subject of public, media and political debate – that is to be welcomed.
No doubt media coverage over the past two-weeks will have prompted many
questions.
At this stage I can confirm that negotiations are continuing on a daily
basis – and if anything are intensifying.
The fact that all sides in politics accept that our current system of
childcare must change should give us hope.
What I am seeking from Government colleagues is a radical new approach –
which will deliver for children, parents and you the people providing this
essential service in every community.
Your voices are important in the debate and I welcome your contributions in
the media and through political advocacy.
Later today I will be back in negotiations with other Ministers and
therefor my public comments must be limited at this stage.
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I would like to thank Teresa Heeney, CEO of Early Childhood Ireland, for
the invitation to launch the Report and may I also take this opportunity to
compliment Mark Tully of Meehan Tully & Associates for his comprehensive
piece work.
Childcare these days is on everyone's agenda, be it parents, childcare
providers, local politicians, and indeed Government.
ECI's commissioned work researches the viability of different childcare
business models in Ireland, through a survey on the “real cost” of
providing childcare.
The research aimed to examine whether it is possible to operate a viable
childcare service that supports professional development for staff and
provides career pathways.
The report’s key findings relate to wages in the childcare sector,
profitability of providers and viability of provision of services
especially for those children under 3 years of age, and suggests that
Ireland’s “childcare model” is built on three pillars:
o Low wages
o Part-time contracts
o Low profits.
The conclusions are very concerning but not unexpected. It is widely
acknowledged that making high quality, affordable childcare accessible to
all who need it, requires a significantly higher level of investment from
the Government over the long term.
We know that Ireland spends 0.5% of GDP on Early Years care and education
compared to the OECD average of 0.8%. We will not reach that OECD target in
one or two years, but we could in the medium term if government agrees to a
multi-annual commitment beginning this year. Last years budget gave us a
good start with a 30% increase in funding that extended free pre-school to
all children from age three until they start school. We need to build on
that in the 2017 Budget.
This report is being launched at a very important time for my Department.
Earlier this month at the European Early Childhood Education Research
Association Conference I spoke about investment levels in the childcare
sector.
I said that increased investment will enable the training and retention of
a highly qualified workforce, the development of good governance, the
establishment of efficient monitoring and evaluation and a well-designed
curriculum; all of which are necessary to assure parents that their
children are receiving the best possible care and education.
I said that investment will also ensure affordability for working parents
and reduce poverty.
I said that Country Specific Recommendations Ireland has received from
Europe and other international criticisms made of us continue to make clear
that significant investment is required in Early Years care and education.
I said that I am committed to continuously increasing our investment in
early years services to support children’s well-being and learning,
throughout my term as a Minister – not least due to the strong research
evidence that high quality early years care and education has the capacity
to deliver positive outcomes for all children and for society more
generally.
Finally, I said that given the social and economic evidence to support
investment in childcare, we need to aspire to meet the OECD average within
5 years and commit to the related annual investment.
We must start now.