Around 500 early childcare providers will be closed in a protest over the current funding of the Early Childhood Care and Education programme.
The ECCE programme is two years worth of Government funded pre-school education available to all children.
ECCE and childcare providers are threatening to start rolling closures in the coming weeks to protest the Government’s funding of the sector.
The Federation of Early Childhood Providers said 500 of its members will close ECCE childcare services today, as a result of funding and policy issues inadequately addressed in Budget 2023.
Members of the FECP will also gather in towns across the country, and outside Leinster House to protest what they say are unviable conditions for their members to operate within the ECCE programme.
In September, the Government launched a new funding model for childcare operators, which included a new €221 million Core Funding scheme, in addition to the ECCE programme and the National Childcare Scheme.
However, the Federation said the new core funding model for the sector has seen smaller providers lose Higher Capitation and support payments.
They say this loss of funds, coupled with the rising energy costs and rent pressures, leaves many ECCE services seriously considering closing their doors.
Smaller independent providers, especially those catering specifically for the State-subsidised ECCE scheme are most disadvantaged, according to FECP Chairperson Elaine Dunne.
Affected parents have been notified of closures locally and protests will be taking place in several towns and cities across the country.
Chairperson of the FECP Elaine Dunne said over 80 providers have had to shut their doors this year, and more will have to close if there is no change to the amount of Government funding offered.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Dunne said 62 closed in 2021, 77 in 2020 and 77 in 2019.
She said the sector has always been underfunded and they cannot “sit back now and allow these services to be closed down permanently”.
“Last year our rural future document committed Government to supporting services in rural Ireland, including childcare,” she said.
“But that’s not happening. They’re closing them down.”
Ms Dunne said they have had “many meetings” with the department.
“We’ve had three protests and now we’ve gone to closures. We are looking for €76 per child in ECCE services, that’s what we’re looking for,” she said.
“And then the core funding on top of that would bring these services up to €85.75 and would quite possibly make them viable until next year until we see once a quarter funding is coming through next year if it service providers.
“It would keep these services open.”
Ms Dunne also questioned the Minister for Children’s request for evidence of failures in core funding and said it is “concerning” that he is “not listening”.
She said she has provided the Department with hundreds of emails and “thousands of letters” from providers since last May “telling them that they have failed and are not listening”.
500 childcare providers closed in protest over funding
Source: Viral Trends Report
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