Budget 2019

Minister Paschal Donohue TD announced an increase of €89 million in funding for early years in Budget 2019. This increase is broken down as follows:

• Increased funding to childcare schemes including CCS and Affordable Childcare Scheme €61m
• Costs associated with delivery of new and existing schemes €10.5m
• Restoration and increase to Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) funding €10.5m
• Increase to existing Programme Support Payments €1.4m
• New, once off, Programme Support Payment for ACS €2m
• Capital increase €2m
• Childminding initiative €0.5m
• Increase to Inspectorates €0.6m
• Other policy initiatives €0.5m

In our 2019 Budget submission Early Childhood Ireland asked our political leaders to rise to the challenge of delivering world-class early childhood education and care for babies, children and families in Ireland and to address the historical under-investment in the early years sector.

Early Childhood Ireland believes that the 2019 Budget represents some limited progress in this regard, building on other recent investment. However, there are still significant structural and other challenges which impact on our members’ capacity to survive and thrive most notably the ongoing staffing crisis. If Ireland is to deliver world-class provision, excellent and valued early years educators will need to be at its forefront. Policy makers need to understand the fundamental importance of this consistency of care for babies and children and the sustainability of a vibrant sector.

On Budget day, we released our initial response to the Budget. Following the further details announced by Minister Zappone on Wednesday, we completed a more in-depth Budget 2019 analysis of the measures introduced in Budget 2019 that will impact upon you and the early years sector. In our Budget 2019 Analysis, we measure the progress of the asks included in our Budget submission against the announcements made by the government last Tuesday. We also outline the measures introduced that will impact on children, families and providers.

Our response to the Budget received broad coverage in both local and national media. Our CEO, Teresa Heeney, spoke to RTÉ 1 television and Virgin Media’s Ireland AM, while our Director of Policy, Advocacy & Communications, Frances Byrne, spoke with Today FM, Newstalk, Virgin Media News, and East Coast FM. In addition, RTÉ Drivetime visited and recorded an item with one of our member settings. We used these platforms as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges facing the sector, and what priority actions need to be taken by this government to ensure Ireland has a thriving early years sector providing quality care to babies and young children.

You may also be interested in the budget responses from the following organisations:

• Children’s Rights Alliance
• Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice
• National Women’s Council
• Barnardos
• Society of St Vincent de Paul