Childcare providers voice concerns over funding amidst protests

By Lucy Murray

Childcare providers nationwide began a three-day strike on 26 September.

Led by The Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP), healthcare providers and parents marched on Leinster House in Dublin on Wednesday. This call to action symbolises growing frustrations within the community.

The core funding model launched in September, 2022, set out with the aim of achieving affordable childcare for parents while helping many childcare providers see improved pay. This scheme runs in combination with the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme and the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).

Hazel Curran, founder of Amy’s House, a crèche and after-school care service located in Galway, voiced her opinions on the problems facing her business, saying, “I have to make it work,” even if at the end of the day, “I am the one that doesn’t get paid.”

Local crèche faces these issues head-on

The Census of Population 2022 Profile 3, by The Central Statistics Office (CSO), revealed that nationally, almost one in three children under 15 were in some form of childcare. The CSO disclosed that Galway City recorded the highest proportion of children in crèches at 57%.

As the only baby service in their catchment area, Amy’s House struggles to balance an extensive waitlist of children with funding that cannot sustain the crèche. Curran said, “I have nine rooms open but only two in service.” With thousands attending the protest over funding for childcare services, Curran’s business is one of many facing these issues. 

Upon introduction, the Core Funding scheme included a condition requiring no parental fee increase by childcare services as part of their Core Funding Partner Services. This freezing of fees at a time when costs continue to rise has left many childcare providers in a challenging situation, one that is “not a level playing field”, according to Curran.

Concerns over keeping businesses afloat are countered by the need to pay staff wages, and Curran describes times when she’s thought, “I pay this wage, but I don’t know where it’s going to come from.”

The next steps

Due to the varying lengths of time a child can stay in different areas of the childcare system, Curran believes “there is a short window to engage people,” and the protests to advocate for improvements in the early years sector are a welcome call amongst many working in the sector.

Each counties’ childcare providers aim to meet at their local TDs’ offices and county childcare committee offices to rally for change.