Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 July 2024
618. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if there are plans to increase core funding to childcare providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29596/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraInvestment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels with public funding for the first time reaching more than €1 billion in 2023 for early learning and childcare – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector.
Core Funding, which is a significant achievement of this Government, was first introduced in September 2022. It is designed and has worked to support improved quality of provision, improved pay and conditions for staff, a fee freeze for parents and sustainability and stability of income for services. Core Funding makes a significant additional contribution to services' income, allowing them to better absorb increased costs.
In year 1 of Core Funding, €259 million was allocated to the scheme, Core funding in its second year had a budget that was increased by 11% to reach €287 million, providing a sustainable platform for investment with increases for all services.
This year, all services will have seen further increases to their core funding allocations from the second year due to the increased allocations towards non-staff overheads and administrative staff and time.
In addition, the Government introduced a number of targeted supports for small and sessional services in year 2 of the scheme to improve sustainability of these services, specifically a flat rate top-up of €4,075 for sessional-only services and a minimum base rate allocation of €8,150.
These measures saw the average allocation under core funding for sessional-only services increase by 32% this year.
Budget 2024 allocated an additional €37.4m to Core Funding. This increase on the 2023 allocation will support continued implementation of the scheme for the second programme year (September 2023 to August 2024) and into the third programme year from September 2024.
I announced on 2 July, details of Year 3 of Core Funding worth €331 million, which will run from September 2024 to August 2025. This is an increase of €44 million (15%) on the current programme year. This funding will accompany new developments to the scheme rules to support services as well as children and their families.
The new developments for Year 3 of Core Funding will include:
An increase to the flat rate top-up for sessional-only services to €5,000 per service (currently €4,075);
An increase to the minimum amount of funding a centre-based service will receive to €14,000 per year (currently €8,150);
An increase to the base rate allocation per place offered across all age groups, with larger increases for children under three years old; and
Funding to support capacity growth of almost 6% across the sector.
The increases I announced will support expanded capacity, particularly capacity for children under three and stability of income to services, particularly low-income services. Since its introduction, I have pledged to grow Core Funding and I have delivered on that.
