BUDGET FAILS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Deireadh Fómhair 12, 2016
Tuesday 11 October 2016
Press Release of the Association of Childhood Professionals
Budget 2017 was a missed opportunity to avert the funding crisis that is currently stalking early childhood education and care provision.
The key priority in Budget 2017 should have been investment in frontline services to enable them to deliver high quality supports to young children and parents. In this respect the budget measures revealed today were a complete failure.
The government’s vision for Ireland to be one of the best small countries in the world in which to grow up and raise a family was not evident as required investment failed to materialise.
Current regulatory requirements mean that it is really expensive to provide high quality early education and care. Parents cannot afford this high cost but in the absence of substantial investment the shortfall is being supplemented through the poor pay and conditions of both early childhood providers and their employees.
With an average wage of little more than €10 per hour many in the early years workforce exist in relative poverty. There is a staffing crisis that is beginning to impact on the level of provision that is available to parents as the poor pay and conditions provide little incentive for the workforce to remain or to attract new entrants
The failure of the government to increase capitation levels means that the poor conditions within the profession remain and centres will continue to close. Obviously this will impact on the government’s capacity to deliver on promises made in Budget 2017.
The 1.4 weeks of non-contact time is a welcome development as it is a recognition that 15 hours of delivery requires additional time to plan, implement, review, document; engage with parents, multidisciplinary teams, inspectorates, mentors, compliance audits; cleaning and maintenance; administration; staff meetings; CPD; etc. However in the absence of substantial investment this gesture smacks of tokenism to a profession that has long been neglected and exploited.
The inclusion of the Affordable Childcare Scheme is a welcome measure for parents and children however members of the early years profession have little confidence that the funds allocated for this will be sufficient to cover the full costs of provision and remove them from relative poverty
Further information: Marian Quinn, Chairperson, Association of Childhood Professionals: The professional body representing practitioners in early years and school age care and education
086 1984431
