Policy in Action 17 October 2023

We are very excited to bring you another Policy in Action update. In each update we will provide you with updates from the Policy, Advocacy and Campaigning (PAC) team, their work with members and their engagement with stakeholders, legislators and policy makers.

Oireachtas Update

Early Childhood Ireland monitors the relevant work of the Oireachtas each week. Part of this work is to review Parliamentary Questions (PQs) that are submitted by members of the Dáil to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (CEDIY) Roderic O’Gorman TD. Recently, these have included:

• Childminding regulations: “The drafting of childminder-specific regulations, and associated legislative reform, is under way at present, and consultation on the draft regulations will take place in the coming months,” according to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (CEDIY), Roderic O’Gorman TD in response to a parliamentary question (PQ) from Richard Bruton TD (Fine Gael).
• ECCE-only funding: The funding for ECCE-only settings was outlined by the Minister for CEDIY in this PQ asked by Deputy Catherine Murphy (Social Democrats).
• Review of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM): “An End-of-Year-Three evaluation of the AIM programme has now been completed, with the final report due to be published by the end of 2023,” according to the Minister for CEDIY in a PQ asked by Deputy Alan Dillon (Fine Gael). More can be found at this link.
• Sponsor subsidy rates: In response to a PQ from Deputy Paul McAuliffe (Fianna Fáil) who asked the Minister for CEDIY of his plans “to address the financial challenges being experienced by community childcare providers in disadvantaged areas who have a very high level of sponsored places and have no additional parental income”, the Minister stated that sponsor subsidy rates are currently being examined as part of an internal review, and any changes will be considered as part of Budget 2024.
• Administration and Record keeping: A new sub-group of the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum has been established by the Department of CEDIY to facilitate progress on improving the administrative burden for Early Years and School Age Care providers. Work will commence in the coming months. Read the full PQ on the Oireachtas website.
• Professionally produced accounts: Deputy Willie O’Dea (Fianna Fáil) asked the Minister for CEDIY about the requirement for settings to produce professionally produced accounts. Read more from this specific day.
• Early Years and School Age Care courses available: “There are 63 childcare focused courses being offered across the country, with 19 being offered in Education and Training Boards and a further 44 in Higher Education Institutions,” according to the Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Niall Collins.
• Dáil motion: Kathleen Funchion TD, led Sinn Féin’s Private Members’ Dáil Motion on “Childcare fees”. You can read the debate on the Oireachtas website

Member Engagement

In addition to our Oireachtas monitoring work, we have been working with our members to bring issues impacting on providing quality experiences for children to the forefront of policy development in Ireland.

Member Reference Groups

Throughout 2022 and 2023, we have been convening our Member Reference Groups, focused on issues in both Early Years and School Age Care, with member views sought on Sleep Guidance and upcoming changes from Tusla, and qualifications requirement proposals in School Age Care. Discussions took place over eight months, with one evening each month. Members were generous with their time, and it was also an opportunity to network with each other. Over time the format of the meetings adapted, allowing more time for this networking and an opportunity for members to discuss other topics or issues that was affecting them in service.

From these engagements and from member contacts with our EYES team, Early Childhood Ireland brought concerns and queries about the new Sleep Guidance directly to Tusla. We strongly value the experience and expertise of our members and believe that their experiences and expertise add great value to the organisation’s work.

Members on Stakeholder Forums

In addition to our Reference Groups, Early Childhood Ireland members also participate in a number of different stakeholder forums and consultative groups. For instance, one of our members has participated actively on the Department of Children’s ‘ELC Forum’ for the last few years, bringing influence and perspective to high-level officials, other stakeholders, as well as the Minister. We were also pleased to nominate a member from a setting in Kerry to a National Childcare Scheme (NCS) Subgroup, which focussed on streamlining. This group has now finished its term and had some clear wins which were recently announced by the DCEDIY.

Recently, another member was nominated for the DCEDIY Advisory Group for the Irish Language Provision Action Plan. We wish this member well with this valuable work, and we look forward to supporting them throughout. We are very grateful to the members who participate in these Forums and Groups, despite their day-to-day responsibilities in their settings.

If you are interested in hearing more about our Oireachtas work or our engagement with members about policy development, please contact us on policy@earlychildhoodireland.ie.