Childcare provider: Budget measures meaningless without fixing staff shortage

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The budget has “done nothing” to address capacity issues in the childcare sector, a provider has said.

Regina Bushell, the founder of Grovelands Childcare, said that although there is record investment in the sector, it has “never been so unstable”.

She employs 135 staff looking after approximately 750 children in Grovelands’ six centres across Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore.

Ms Bushell said the budget contained many perks for the parents who use her services, but warned there is an overall lack of vision on the future of early childhood education and care.

“We have to absolutely celebrate what’s there for parents, there’s a lot there for them including the reduction in the national childcare scheme and other benefits for young, new parents.

“But from a provider’s point of view, there’s a couple of challenges.”

The challenges include an increase in the minimum wage and the auto-enrolment pension plan commencing in 2025 – all while childcare centres under the core-funding model operate with a fee freeze.

Under the budget, investment in early learning and childcare increased to nearly €1.4 billion – including a 44 per cent increase to the National Childcare Scheme.

However, Ms Bushell warned: “It puts the sector again under pressure to provide those additional child care places and retain the staff that we have.”

Ms Bushell was initially concerned about a lack of reference to any increase to core funding in the budget speeches that may address concerns arising from changes to pay – given that childcare providers had to freeze their fees to participate in the scheme.

While the accompanying expenditure report says that funding has been ring-fenced to meet minimum rates of pay arising from future employment regulation orders, Ms Bushell said this is “vague” and more clarity is needed.

She further raised concern that any change is unlikely to happen soon enough to coincide with the minimum wage increase on January 1st.

She said there was “very little” in the budget to give business providers hope.

“Core funding remains the big issue because we, as business owners, have had no explanation how that will be allocated in 2025 and 2026.”

Early years service providers may be further challenged by a loss of qualified staff by the recruitment of a further 1,600 SNAs who will benefit from the public-sector pay deal.

While dealing with the fee freeze, operators in the childcare sector have raised concerns about the ability to offer competitive wages to combat that staff drain.

The businesswoman also criticised what she saw as a lack of communication, adding that providers are often “working in an information vacuum”.

She said that further information on the measures was needed when Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman would engage with the sector on Wednesday.