SIPTU Submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

The following text was submitted by SIPTU representatives to the Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in early October 2021

My name is Darragh O’Connor, SIPTU Head of Strategic Organising and Campaigns and I am joined by Deborah Reynolds, an Early Years professional and SIPTU activist.

SIPTU is the union for Early Years professionals and represents approximately 6,000 educators, room leaders and managers working in community and private Early Years (childcare) services throughout Ireland. Firstly, I want to thank the chairperson and the members of the committee for inviting us here today to discuss how low levels of government funding has resulted in poverty pay for Early Years professionals and has given rise to an acute staffing crisis. The pandemic highlighted just how crucial Early Years services are to children, families and the wider economy.

Early Years professionals worked on the frontline in the depths of the pandemic caring for, and educating the children of other essential workers, as well as vulnerable children. We could not ‘reopen’ society without reopening of Early Years services. Beyond the pandemic, 50 years of research has shown that high quality Early Years care and education enhances children’s holistic development, including educational outcomes, reducing child poverty and disadvantage, supporting families, promoting social inclusion, and enhancing future employability.

For every €1 invested in high quality provision, a state can expect a return of €7 to €12 over time. Affordable services also facilitate parents’ workforce participation, especially for women and is a key means of addressing gender inequality. However, despite the many benefits of high-quality services, and a significant increase in government investment in recent years, Ireland spends just 0.3% of GDP on Early Years. This is far below the European average of 0.8% and the UNICEF recommended benchmark of 1%. This unsustainable funding gap has resulted in a crisis where professionals earn poverty wages, parents pay some of the highest fees in Europe and providers struggle with sustainability.

The depth of the crisis for both employees and employers was highlighted in the ‘Early Years Staffing Survey 2021’ published by the New Deal for Early Years coalition this October. It revealed that 42% of Early Years professionals are actively seeking work outside the sector, with 78% stating that “if things stay the same” they do not intend to work within the sector in twelve months’ time. Pay is by far the biggest factor driving people out of their profession (78%), followed by stress (8%). 89% of Early Years professionals would not recommend a career in Early Years to a friend or family member. For managers and owner-managers the situation is equally as stark. 71% found it ‘extremely difficult’ to recruit new staff over the past 12 months with low pay the ‘biggest obstacle’ for 55% of respondents. It was a ‘significant obstacle’ for an additional 35%. Almost all (97%) of managers and owner-managers are concerned that ‘problems recruiting and retaining staff will negatively impact on service provision’. The top concerns were an ‘impact on quality for children’ (64%), ‘reduced number of children that can be cared for’ (60%) and ‘difficulty maintaining staff / child ratios’ (59%). This crisis is driven by low pay and under funding. According to the POBAL ‘Annual Early Years Sector Profile’, Early Years Educators, who constitute 55% of all staff working with children, earn just €11.91 per hour on average, 99c below the “living wage” for Ireland in 2021. Managers and owner managers, who shoulder enormous responsibilities, earn on average just €15.28 per hour. Basic conditions like maternity pay, sick pay or a pension are rare. Too many are forced to choose between poverty pay, retraining for a different career, or emigrating to a country that properly values qualified and dedicated Early Years professionals. In preparation for this committee meeting, we asked Early Years professionals to put in their own words how low pay is affecting them. Here is a sample of the responses we received; “Many of our Early Childhood Educators are at breaking point. We are physically and mentally drained. I work in a centre with 27 staff and almost 200 children. In the past 2 months, 5 staff members have handed in their notice, some taking jobs as waitresses or bartenders as the pay is much better. We have numerous staff working a second job in the evenings and weekends just to make ends meet. We are losing some of the best childcare workers and will continue to do so until something drastically changes” – Anne, Early Years Professional “The low pay in my job has left me wondering how much longer I can stay in this sector. I'm a single parent of two teenagers. With this comes bigger shopping bills, more money needed for their clothes and my eldest looks like she will definitely be heading to college (hopefully). I presently work for €10.20 per hour, 25 hours per week, and I also get the Working Family Payment. I just finished my Level 6 in childcare and wonder why I bothered. I feel so let down by our government to be honest, they know how things are but still want staff to be highly qualified but pay me less than a supermarket worker. I am presently in debt to my 84 year old mother because I needed a new cooker last year. With bills and a car, I can't pay her back yet. Now I'm buying oil for the house with my children's allowance, so another month goes by with nothing put aside for Christmas and I still don’t have money to pay back an elderly parent. Truthfully if there is not substantial change in this budget I will have to consider a better paid job in a supermarket over my preferred career. Something has to change and fast” – Caroline, Early Years Professional “Paying my staff such low rates of pay is my biggest moral struggle when it comes to running my own preschool sessional service. I ask huge responsibility of them, and I take on huge responsibility, for very little in return. They have to live on very low income and have big outgoings like everyone else in this country. They are not employed for 52 weeks of the year so it limits their life and what plans they can make, for example applying for loans or mortgages. They have no other benefits like maternity pay or sick leave. My latest problem is trying to find a new staff member. I can't find them and let's be honest, with such low staff levels available and very little to actually offer them, it's becoming a scary thought whether my little business will survive” – Lorraine, Owner Manager The solution is clear. In Budget 2022, Government must substantially increase investment in Early Years to address the low pay and staffing crisis. This is not a radical demand. First 5, the Whole of Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families (2018) commits to double investment in early childhood education and care by 2028. The implementation of Frist 5 was committed to in the current Programme for Government. The new Joint Labour Committee for Early Years, established by Government this year, together with the introduction of a new fudning model, will allow for a significant increase in state investment with the confidence that it will deliver a path to professional pay for staff, improve affordability for parents and address the staffing crisis for services.

Again, these two commitments were made in the current Programme for Government. Professionals, providers, parents, and children need a new deal for Early Years. We need a system that will attract and retain skilled and qualified educators, reduce fees for parents, support quality for children and ensure service sustainability. Simply put, the sector needs hope in Budget 2022.

The alternative is a mass exodus that none of us can afford.