Early Childhood Ireland has expressed its ‘disappointment’ over funding measures outlined for Early Years, in Budget 2018.

 

On Tuesday, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announced that an extra €20 million was being allocated to continued development of ‘affordable childcare with a focus on children, parents and providers’.

 

The funding falls short of the €250 million target that ECI previously asked for. The organisation’s comments come after a more detailed breakdown of Budget 2018 was unveiled.

 

With regards to the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme:

  • From September 2018, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme will be made available to all children over the age of two years and eight months, for two full programme years.
  • All children within the relevant age bracket will be entitled to 76 weeks of the scheme.
  • The upper age limit on finishing ECCE will stay at five years and six months.
  • The initiative is to ensure an equitable two-year entitlement for all children.
  • From September 2018, capitation rates for ECCE will increase by 7 percent.

 

 

While the move away from rolling enrolment to a single-entry point from September 2018 has been welcomed by ECI, they do have some concerns.

 

Chiefly, ECI is concerned that the reduction in the qualifying age will present practical issues; for example, not all children are toilet-trained at this age, and this is a policy requirement for many services before taking in children.

 

Other information revealed in the breakdown:

  • An additional €500,000 will be made available to support care providers whose viability is under threat.
  • An extra €1 million to be given for inspection and registration in Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and the Department of Education and Skill; this is to assure the quality of early years services.
  • An additional €1 million will be made available for capital expenditure for early years and schoolaged childcare.
  • An extra €500,000 will be invested in staffing costs for City/County Childcare Committees for pay restoration, in line with national pay agreements.

 

 

One of the main areas that has left the ECI ‘very disappointed’, is parental leave – principally due to the absence of an extension of paid family leave that could be shared by parents following maternity and paternity leave entitlements’.

 

“This would have contributed to a reduction in childcare costs for families, but most importantly, it is well established that it is in the child’s best interests to be cared for by a parent for at least the first 12 months of life,” they wrote, in a statement.

 

“Ireland has the fourth shortest period of paid parental leave in Europe, and this must be actively addressed by the Government.”

 

What do you think, mums?

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