Context
In Ireland, early learning and childcare services operate based on a market system, whereby services are delivered through private providers (whether for-profit or not-for-profit) who are generally free, within regulatory and contractual constraints, to manage their own operations. Due to a variety of historical and cultural factors, the involvement of the state in this sector has been less in comparison to European counterparts. First 5: a Whole of Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, published in November 2018, sets out an ambitious programme of work across government departments to improve the experiences and outcomes of children in Ireland from birth to age 5 across all aspects of their lives. To meet these challenges, an Expert Group was established to examine the existing funding model, its effectiveness in delivering quality, affordable, sustainable and inclusive services. It was also to consider how additional resourcing could be delivered for the sector to achieve these objectives, drawing on international evidence and case studies in this area.
In December 2021, detailed proposals for a new funding model for the early learning and the childcare sector were made to government by the Expert Group in their report, Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare. From their research and analysis of the sector, the Expert Group identified several major issues, which the new funding model aimed to address through a range of reforms to the early learning and childcare sector, and Ireland more broadly.
Objectives
In September 2022, ‘Together for Better’, the new funding model for early learning and childcare, was launched. This funding model supports the delivery of early learning and childcare for the public good, for quality and affordability for children, parents and families as well as stability and sustainability for providers. Together for Better is aimed at addressing the needs of (1) providers to have a stable and sustainable source of funding to deliver high-quality early learning and childcare; (2) parents to have access to high early learning and childcare at an affordable rate; (3) staff to have higher wages and better working conditions; (4) children, with particular emphasis on disadvantaged children, to have higher quality early learning and childcare; (5) the state to have detailed operational and financial information about the sector to better inform future policy decisions.
Implementation
Core funding, which began in September 2022, was worth €259 million in full year costs in year one to start this partnership for the public good between the state and providers. The budget has been increasing annually, reaching €331 million in 2024. The implementation of the Expert Group’s recommendations constitutes historical reforms for early learning and childcare, and is having a large beneficial impact on the sector. The latest data on service closures and new service registrations, drawn from the official register at end September 2023, shows very positive data such as a five-year low in the number of net services closures, such as day-care centres and preschools, or a net increase of 183 after-school childcare services.