Childcare faces ‘mass exodus’ of workers unless new funds allocated – Siptu

There will be a "mass exodus" of workers from the childcare sector unless significant new funding is committed in the budget, an Oireachtas committee will be told on Tuesday.

Siptu, which represents around 6,000 people working in the sector, will tell the joint committee on children that Ireland spends just 0.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on early years services and education.

This, the union will say, is "far below" the European average of 0.8 per cent and the Unicef recommended benchmark of one per cent.

"This unsustainable funding gap has resulted in crisis where professionals earn poverty wages, parents pay some of the highest fees in Europe and providers struggle with sustainability," it will say.

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A survey of those working in the sector, undertaken by Siptu, found that 42 per cent of respondents are actively seeking work outside childcare, with 78 per cent saying that “if things stay the same” they do not intend to work in the sector in 12 months’ time.

Pay is by far the biggest factor cited by respondents, the committee will hear, cited 78 per cent of the time, followed by stress – which just 8 per cent cite as their main concern. Almost 90 per cent would not recommend a career within the early years sector.

Those running creches and other childcare settings report challenges in attracting people into the sector – 71 per cent said it is “extremely difficult” to recruit new staff over the past 12 months, with low pay the biggest obstacle for 55 er cent of respondents. Some 97 per cent of managers and owner-managers are concerned that “problems recruiting and retaining staff will negatively impact on service provision”.

Darragh O'Connor, head of strategic organising and campaigns at the union, will call on Government to "substantially increase investment in early years to address the low pay and staffing crisis".

He will say: “Put simply, the sector needs hope in Budget 2022. The alternative is a mass exodus that none of us can afford.”