Kathleen Funchion on Early Years Staffing Shortages

This question is in relation to the early years sector and to ask what actions the Department has taken to address the chronic staff shortages facing a significant number of early years services and if you can make a statement on the matter. Just to say that that is particularly relevant in the last, I would say, two weeks with recent announcements by the Department of Education, but I will get into that when I have more time. I am aware that many early learning and child care services are reporting staffing difficulties and that is exacerbated by the current rates of COVID-19 in the community. My Department is actively monitoring this issue and has sought data and evidence-based proposals from sectoral representatives. So last week my Department convened a subgroup of the Early Learning and Child Care Stakeholders Forum to discuss immediate staffing pressures resulting from COVID-19 and additional measures that may be needed. And the group is examining ways to provide additional staffing support on a temporary basis, including a proposal that has been considered by further and higher education institutions to build on the current process available to enable students who are undertaking early learning and care qualifications to work in the sector temporarily while carrying on their studies. And the group is meeting again today actually to consider those proposals. When COVID-19 creates additional pressures, longer term challenges with recruitment and retention of staff remain. The high level of staff turnover in the sector, which was 18% last year, primarily reflects the level of pay and conditions in employment. However, we should remember that the sector has continued to grow in recent years, despite the challenges. Employment in the sector has risen from 25,700 in 2016 to 30,900 last year. And thanks to the considerable supports from government over the last 18 months, employee numbers in the sector have held steady. As we know, the State is not the employer and does not determine the rates of pay. However, last December I began a process to examine the possibility of regulating pay and conditions. And this has led to the establishment of a joint labour committee and that has now been brought together. And of course, then in Budget 2022, I announced the introduction from September 2022 of a significant new core funding stream for services. Among a number of objectives, core funding will support services to meet the conditions that have been set out in employment regulation order as a result of the JLC. So, finally, I will publish a workforce plan for the sector later this month, which will include important actions to strengthen career pathways and support recruitment. And this plan will also map out a positive way forward for the sector. And I believe the services will develop further as a result in years ahead. Thanks, Minister. Yeah, I suppose there is, like I would argue, there was always an issue, or certainly in the last number of years, there was a serious issue around staffing and retaining staff. And we all know we have had that discussion, it does come down to the pay and the conditions, and you have very qualified people training up to degree level, and sometimes beyond, and then, you know, really, poor rates of pay. And I hope that that JLC process works. You said the state is not the employer, of course, I wish the state was the employer, and that is eventually what I would like to see happening. But, you know, that is obviously not going to happen today or tomorrow. So, I suppose, just in the context as well, COVID has put a huge amount of extra pressures, and then there was a recent announcement about SNAs being recruited for schools, and, you know, certainly a number of people have contacted myself, and I'm sure they've contacted others, that they are now seeing staff go for the SNA role and leave, and that is leaving them in a really, really difficult situation. So, we definitely need to address short-term, some short-term, as well as long-term measures in relation to staffing. I think in terms of the short-term measures, I know when we announced to the sector reps last week that we were making available third and fourth year graduates and post-graduates, who are in the Institutes of Higher and Further Education at the moment, to allow them to go and take up places across the sector. I know that was warmly welcomed and has been able to provide some kind of extra buffer at the moment in terms of many services experiencing staff who are out due to COVID. So, look, we have acted in the short-term to try and support the sector, particularly as we hopefully crest the current delta wave, but you're absolutely correct in terms of the wider issues. I have acted since I've come into this office. We've established the JLC, which is a really important measure, but I think just as importantly, we've come in with financial support. That core funding announcement in this year's budget is going to be hugely important. There is a significant allocation of money to support the employment regulation order, and I really hope the two sides can come together and agree that employment regulation order swiftly. I would agree in relation, as I've always argued, there should be a wage scale, and I prefer, as I said, to see that being taken on by the state, but in the absence of that, I hope the JLC process is successful. In relation to the short-term measures, I would welcome that, because I think they're doing something similar in the education system, in terms of people who are doing their master's. Is there any data on what that might, how many people that might actually release, or, and you probably wouldn't have that actually right here, right now, but if we can maybe get some information on that, and the workforce plan, yeah, I look forward to seeing that report when it is welcome. And as I said, I just think longer term as well, we need to look at the way there's a panel of substitutes for schools, maybe that's something that could be, and I know that's more of a longer term plan, but done through the county child care committees, I think there could be a role for them there, in relation to having a relief panel of staff for people, in general, for staffing issues when things arise. Thanks. Thanks very much, I don't have specific figures in terms of how that will impact yet, again, we just announced it last week, but I have spoken to one or two child care providers in my own constituency, who were able to secure some of these students, and so it is making a difference, and alleviating some of those real pressures that you spoke about. I think, right, actually this month we're going to have two very significant announcements, we're going to have the workforce planning announced and published, and we're going to have the expert group on the funding model, the final report published, so I think that's certainly something that I know many deputies here have been waiting for for a long time, those have been two real focuses of the early years section of my department since I became minister, we saw enact one part of the expert group, basically in the budget, in terms of core funding, that was very much influenced by the expert group, and I think it was important that even though the expert group wasn't finalised, we were working as quickly as possible to start to implement one of its most important recommendations, so we weren't waiting until, you know, budget 2023 before we started to take action, so some significant announcements in the next week or two in this area.