Cork childcare providers shut their doors in protest

Some childcare providers in Cork city and county continue to keep their doors shut as part of a 3 day protest organised by members of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP).

The protest, which began on Tuesday, centres around lack of funding in the sector, which, despite a €259m investment from the Department of Children last year, providers say falls short of what is needed to keep childcare facilities in business.

The primary concern revolves around the Government's core funding policy which was introduced last year. Providers who agreed to this policy were required to maintain their fees at a fixed rate, a measure they say does not align with the current cost-of-living challenges.

On Tuesday, members of the childcare industry including owners and staff staged a demonstration outside Leinster House calling for greater support for the sector.

Mella Finn, the owner of Mulberry Montessori Pre-school in Mitchelstown, attended the demonstration in Dublin and says her facility, which has spaces for 44 children and been in business for almost two decades, will remain closed until Friday. She maintains that the financial funding offered by the Government to providers is not viable in the long term.

“I have to make a living and the funding from the Government isn’t enabling me to pay my staff or to pay myself, that means I’m going to have to close my service.

“After putting 19 years of time and effort into families and children down through the years, it’s heartbreaking to think that it may be the only option left,” she told the Cork Independent.

She also says that the fees providers are receiving is not in line with the current cost of living and in many cases that there has been a significant drop in their income. “In 2010 I was charging €70 for a child for the week, that was before the Government became involved in my business. The Government is now paying €69, that’s 13 years later on the ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) scheme,” she added.

However, while admitting that the sector has been “underfunded for decades”, Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman has refuted claims that the Government isn’t investing enough in childcare.

Speaking on Morning Ireland earlier this week, he said: “We're playing catch up, but we've made really important strides over the last three years. A €400 million increase, that's 60 per cent growth in state investment. I don't know any other area of state funding that has grown so much so quickly.”

Sinn Féin TD for Cork South-Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has urged the minister to intervene in the ongoing childcare crisis.

“We are clearly at something of a crisis point in childcare provision in the Cork city area. I and others have been raising for many years, concerns about the sustainability of childcare providers and in recent weeks we have seen some childcare providers announce that they are closing permanently and others who are closing temporarily.

“The minister needs to intervene directly and that means the State creating capacity where required. This may involve partnerships with state bodies such as the ETB or other state bodies, but it must be done urgently,” he said.