Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 May 2026
216. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated cost of an increase to the Graduate Lead Educator premium rate to €8.88; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37988/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraCore Funding supports the ability of service providers to meet the additional costs resulting from the Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Services, through ringfenced funding. In addition to the ringfenced funding to support pay costs, Core Funding also supports services to meet operating costs and provides additional funding to support the employment of graduate leaders in Early Years settings.
The calculation of a services Core Funding grant contains multiple elements – the Base Rate, Graduate Premiums, Targeted Measures and the Staff Funding Additional Contribution.
The Graduate Lead Educator Premium supports graduate-led provision in Early Learning and Care sessions. The Graduate Lead Educator Premium allocation for a Partner Service is calculated as the number of weekly session hours, where an eligible ELC session operates with a eligible Graduate Lead Educator in it, multiplied by the room operating weeks per year, based on room offering , multiplied by the Graduate Lead Educator premium rate of €4.44, with the condition of a maximum of one Graduate Lead Educator premium per room at a time.
These allocations are underpinned by the graduate staff in lead educator roles in a given service and are paid directly to the Partner Service as part of their overall Core Funding grant allocation. It is at the discretion of the Partner Service as to how their Core Funding grant is utilised, provided the purpose conforms to the approved areas of expenditure as set out in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.
The total estimated cost of the Graduate Lead Educator premium, if the rate was increased from €4.44 to €8.88, is approximately €98.8 million. This is based on an estimation of the cost of the existing level Graduate Lead Educator Premium allocations for Partner Services, plus an estimation of the growth rate in Core Funding for the next programme year.
