Invaluable childcare providers must be supported practically – Ahearn

Regulating childcare providers in a way that doesn’t employ practicality and common sense may lead to business closures, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Speaking in the Seanad, Senator Garret Ahearn said: “This week, Clonmel Childcare took the difficult decision to leave the Core Funding Programme. This decision was made for a number of reasons, but the main one was that in order to receive core funding, they cannot raise their rates.

“While I agree that parents should not need to pay any more for their childcare, we do need to acknowledge that these businesses need to remain viable. Clonmel Childcare has taken this decision because their overheads are rising and being tied to core funding is no longer financially viable for their business.

“A survey undertaken by SIPTU of Early Years Professionals found that 39% of respondents who took part in the study are “actively looking for a job in another sector”. We have made very positive changes in terms of increasing salary rates, but with the rising costs of living and the huge regulations in the sector, the fear is that a significant proportion of these services will close. They are finding it hard to find staff, yet the demand for the services are at an all-time high

“With the move to add childminders to the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), I fear that we are facing huge issues throughout the entire sector. Making TUSLA registration mandatory will almost certainly lead to a mass exodus of childminders, unless it is done meticulously well.

“There needs to be a certain amount of practicality here. Parents do not leave their children with people they do not trust. They will not leave them in unsafe situations. Telling a childminder that they may only accommodate five children when they already have five children of their own effectively ends their business.

“This sector props up every other sector. Parents cannot work without adequate affordable childcare. I welcome the significant supports that Minister O’Gorman has given the sector over the last number of years, but we need to do more. We are at full employment and this invaluable sector needs to be supported practically.”