Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman says Budget 2022 is a ‘game changer’ for Irish parents
FINANCE Minister Paschal Donohoe announced Budget 2022 on Tuesday, with a number of measures aimed at parents.
Among them, were plans for an ambitious €716million package in childcare. This includes €69million to freeze fees at childcare services that take funding for improved staff terms.
The Minister for Public Expenditure, Michael McGrath, said the Government was making a “generational shift in the delivery of quality childcare” and added that it was “a turning point” in the State’s approach to the early years sector.
A National Childcare Scheme universal subsidy will be extended to under-15s. And the removal of pre-school and school hours from subsidised hours will benefit 5,000 children from low-income families.
Writing in the Irish Sun on Sunday today, Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman says Budget 2022 will be a “game changer” for parents and providers.
GAME CHANGER BUDGET
WHEN speaking to parents about childcare, they almost always tell me two things.
The first is how important their childcare is to them, and how much they value the work done by childcare professionals.
The second is that the burden that high fees for childcare represent.
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Since becoming Minister for Children, I have visited childcare facilities around the country and I’m struck by the incredible commitment from childcare providers and professionals to their jobs.
In the darkest days of the January lockdown, childcare providers and professionals stepped up. They kept their services open. They continued to deliver quality early learning and care for children, and I know the public are very grateful for that.
Despite how vital it is to children, parents, and the economy, for a long time, the Irish State spent very little on childcare. It was left to parents, particularly mothers, to sort it out for themselves.
The result has been that the childcare system didn’t really work well for children, parents, providers, or their staff.
Providers are only just about managing to get by.
Parents are paying huge amounts for childcare.
Staff pay is too low and staff turnover rates are too high. This impacts on children.
On Tuesday, with the launch of Budget 2022, we took a big step towards fixing this.
CORE FUNDING
Starting next year, we will launch a major new funding stream for childcare providers, called “core funding”. In a full year, it’ll mean an additional €200 million invested into childcare.
This will support providers with many of the costs of running their services. It will help improve pay and conditions for the staff that do such incredible work.
Importantly, providers will only be eligible for this €200million funding package if they commit not to increase fees for parents.
Through this new funding, we are tackling the issues of staff pay, of provider sustainability, and of high parent fees. It will be a game changer for childcare in Ireland.
I know that for many parents, fees are already too high. While a fee freeze might well provide some stability, they want to see more done to address those high fees.
The Government is committed to doing that. Budget 2022 was about giving certainty to providers, staff and parents. The next step will be reducing fees.
As an initial step, from September 2022, the National Childcare Scheme universal subsidy will be extended to all children under 15.
In previous years, when more investment was made into childcare, fees went up because costs for childcare providers increased.
Core funding means that, in future years, when we make further investment into childcare, those costs are covered, and we have some control over fees, so the impact of subsidised under the NCS can be fully felt by parents.
TACKLING DISADVANTAGE
As part of the Budget, we made childcare more accessible, and in particular, looked to tackle access in disadvantaged areas.
Concerns have been raised about the impact of the NCS on children from disadvantaged areas, and in response to these concerns, we are ending the practice of removing hours spent in pre-school or school from the entitlement to NCS subsidised hours. This means more subsidised childcare for those most in need.
IMPACT
We still have a way to go on childcare in Ireland.
I want to see affordable fees for parents, services that have certainty that they can afford their costs, staff that are paid a fair and decent wage. The consequence of this will better experiences for children.
Budget 2022 is an important step towards all of those.
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From a position ten years ago where the Government spent almost nothing on childcare, in 2022 we’ll spend €716million.
The new core funding package gives a little more certainty to everyone in childcare, and sets the stage for the next steps towards a system that works for all.