In this issue
Focus on services for children
Restoration campaign brings new scales
Water referendum hailed in Europe
Common ground on health reforms
Early education needs much more cash
Clerys settlement reached
Early education needs much more cash
by Niall Shanahan
 

IMPACT’s Early Education branch, launched at the end of last month, is to push for hugely increased state investment in the pre-school sector. The union says much more cash is needed to bring down costs to parents and improve services to children through the professionalisation of early education.

Investment is also essential to improve the pay and conditions of early education professionals who earn an average of €10.27 per hour. Speaking at the launch of IMPACT’s newest branch, Ciairín de Buis, interim director of IMPACT’s early education campaign, EarlyImpact, said the Government spent remarkably little on early education compared to other countries.

“Lack of investment means parents pay for some of the most expensive childcare in the world, with no guarantee of quality early education for their children. We need to be spending multiples of what we currently invest. The average expenditure on early childhood institutions in EU and OECD countries was 0.8% of GDP in 2013. In the same year Ireland spent just 0.1% of GDP,” she said.

This chronic lack of investment means parents in Ireland pay some of the highest childcare costs in the world, for services staffed by some of the lowest paid. “Children have no guarantee of quality and this needs to change. The current workforce is poorly qualified, poorly paid, with poor working conditions. Those caring for and teaching our youngest children do an incredibly important job, the Government needs to recognise that,” said Ciairín.

Average wages in the sector range between just over €9 an hour to around €20. Last year an Early Childhood Ireland survey showed an average wage of €10.27 an hour, with a €1 premium for graduates.

Professionalisation

The union’s EarlyImpact campaign is pushing for increased investment with a focus on professionalisation, higher qualifications, agreed salary scales and better working conditions. “The goal is to reach the OECD investment average of 0.8% of GDP within five years, and to meet the UNICEF quality benchmark of 1% of GDP in 10 years,” according to Ciairín.

The Programme for Government contains significant commitments including the promise of an independent review of the cost of providing quality childcare in private and community settings, which the programme says is consistent with professionalisation of the sector.

The Government had promised to monitor the implementation of new quality regulations and standards, to work towards further paediatric first aid training for staff, and to review and reform the inspection regime and withdraw funding from providers that fail to meet quality standards.

Ciairín said IMPACT’s campaign will hold the Government to these commitments. “If fully implemented, they could significantly advance the professionalisation that is crucial to the early education sector,” she said.

EarlyImpact on Facebook

@early_impact on Twitter

LikeLike (2) | Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Email Software by Newsweaver