I acknowledge the important role the Joint Labour Committee and its members are playing in improving wages and working conditions in the Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare sector.
In line with the provisions of the Industrial Relations Acts, the Joint Labour Committee is independent in its functions, and neither I nor the Department have a statutory role in its processes. While acknowledging the independent nature of the Labour Court and the JLC process and the hard work of its members in negotiating the pay and conditions for the early learning and childcare sector, I therefore cannot pre-empt an independent process.
The Early Years Service Joint Labour Committee has successfully negotiated three Employment Regulation Orders since its establishment in 2021. These ERO’s have delivered improved pay and conditions, supported career pathways and helped support the recruitment and retention of early years educators and school-age practitioners.
Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by Government through Core Funding. In this programme year 2025/26 Core Funding has increased by 6% to approximately €350 million with an additional €45 million in ring-fenced Core Funding provided to support early learning and care services in meeting the increased cost of minimum pay rates in the sector negotiated by the Joint Labour Committee.
As part of launch of Shaping the Future: Early Years Action Plan in December, I announced another allocation of up to €15m of ring-fenced funding from September 2026, which amounts up to €45m for the full programme year, to support service providers with costs associated with possible increases in minimum rates of pay negotiated via the independent Joint Labour Committee process. Consequently, over 2 years, the Department has made an allocation of €90 million available to support possible increased rates of pay.
In line with the commitment in the programme for Government to continue to support Employment Regulation Orders to attract and retain early years educators, I met with Joint Labour Committee representatives recently to outline the Government's continued support for the improvement of pay for educators and practitioners working in the sector and the JLC process.
The Department continues to support the JLC and the negotiation process by fulfilling data requests which it has received from the JLC members.
