Minister accused of not listening by childcare protesters in Dublin

Hundreds of childcare providers and early-year educators closed on Friday over what they said was inadequate funding for the sector.

The providers said a new funding model announced by the Government this year has not helped them to pay mounting costs.

The Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP) said around 500 of its members funded through the State’s Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme took part in Friday’s closures across the country.

Providers said they feel they have no option but to take the action, with a possibility of “rolling” closures in the run-up to Christmas.

At Dail Eireann in Dublin, protesters told the PA news agency that they had hoped Budget 2023 would offer additional support and that they would consider leaving the industry if something more was not done.

Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman, who introduced the childcare funding model, accused the protests as “unwarranted”, and that the first year of this model is “a first step”.

When his comments were repeated at the protest, the crowd booed in response and demonstrators accused the minister of not listening to them.

“I think it’s really disappointing that the closures are going ahead today and I believe that these closures are unwarranted,” Mr O’Gorman told RTE’s Morning Ireland.

“Government, and myself as minister, we’ve prioritised investment in childcare and Budget 2023 will see for the first time ever over a billion euro being spent on childcare.

“With that money, we’re looking to deliver for parents in terms of reduction in fees; we’re looking to deliver for the childcare staff; we’ve secured a pay agreement that will see 73% of them get a pay increase; and in particular, we’re looking to deliver for providers of full-day childcare and providers who are working in ECCE only.

“This year we’re providing 259 million euro in core funding. It’s a massive increase in core funding.

“That’s just the first year of core funding and that is recognising that there has been some very significant under-investment in childcare over decades in Ireland.

“And for ECCE-only services, the services were probably focusing on today; last year, between the higher capitation programme support payments, they would have gotten total 14 million.

“This year through core funding, they’ll be receiving 27 million, so a 13 million euro increase to the ECCE-only services.”

The minister said that, in the second year of the funding model, there will be “28 million more to support services”.

“I would ask that they withdraw the threat of the second day of closures later on this month because I think that’s unfair for parents, it’s unfair for the children who are impacted.”

Lindsay McCabe from Bright Sparks Montessori in Malahide, Dublin, said that the “one-size fits all approach” was not working for the small ECCE providers, who are generally early-years educators.

She said that a base rate of 13 euro an hour for graduates was “laughable”.

“It’s really quite demeaning, we’ve had to protest three times already and he’s really not listening.

“He keeps telling us ‘this is what we’ve invested in the sector, but the sector has lots of different types of services and he’s the one failing us.”

Carol Thompson, from Roscrea in Co Tipperary, told PA said this was their “last call for somebody to listen to us”.

She said she may have to reduce their service if additional measures are not provided.

“The new core funding, while benefitting a lot of services within the sector, it’s not looking after the small ECCE or preschools.

“We’re living in a small rural community, we’ve 40 children, expanded the business to meet local need, but now we’re struggling and going forward it’s very worrying for us how we will continue to manage.

“I’m the only standalone pre-school in my town, not community based, so it’s run from my home like a lot of people here.

“We were in receipt of higher capitation because of the qualifications of the staff, it’s graduate-led, that’s gone, and we were in receipt of administration costs, a small amount for non-contact hours. That’s gone.”

Smaller independent creches and early-years educators have said they feel they are being squeezed out of the sector through the Government’s approach.

They say they cannot keep up with costs, particularly during the cost-of-living crisis.

Elaine Dunne, chair of FECP, said that small childcare providers in rural areas would be particularly hit by the gap between the cost of running creches and the funding available from the State.

“The current situation where the Minister is determined not to engage on a solution just flies in the face of industry and enterprise on so many levels,” she said.