‘If we sign up, they own us’: Childcare provider says budget does nothing to reduce bureaucracy

The budget has done nothing to address issues of underfunding and excessive bureaucracy that have left many early childhood providers drowning in a sea of paperwork, a long standing operator has claimed.

Sonya Duggan, who has been providing education and care for young children in Portaloise in Co Laois for 25 years, said the €44 million boost to the core funding model was far below what was required.

Duggan, who currently runs two Montessori schools in the town, is a member of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers. The federation last month organised a demonstration at the front of the Dail that saw thousands of early years operators and staff demand action from the government.

A number of service providers affiliated with the federation closed their doors for three days in the same week as part of the protest action. Duggan predicted that more action would follow next month as many providers faced the prospect of closure.

“They were hoping there would be light at the end of the tunnel, and it doesn’t look like there is,” she said of the budget.

One of the federation’s principal concerns is the core funding model introduced last year. The arrangement allowed private sector operators to sign up for a guaranteed stream of state funding. In exchange they have been required to freeze fees for two years and also open themselves up to additional departmental oversight.

Children’s minister Roderic O’Gorman said the core funding would rise to €331 million in 2024, an increase of €44 million on the current allocation of €287 million. But Duggan said the funding falls well short of what providers require to run their services and keep pace with rampant inflation.

“There’s very little coming to the provider, virtually nothing,” she said.

She welcomed the budget’s further 25 per cent average reduction on fees for parents, but she questioned why that was only coming into effect next September.

She said her sector is now hugely over-regulated, with operators having to account for every move, including an hourly breakdown of staff activities and the costings for purchasing toilet paper and art supplies.

“They need to have a more collaborative approach and stop bombarding the services. We’re constantly ticking boxes, trying to adhere to all these regulations, and it’s just gone beyond a joke,” she said.

“People are feeling burned out and they’re really stressed because there’s far too much administration tied to our roles. And our main focus should be the care of the children, the education of the children, supporting our staff and our families. And that now has seemed to have gone by the wayside.”

Duggan said she regularly has to work into the early hours of the morning to keep on top of the paperwork.

“We’ve got to justify every penny, every cent, and it’s all about compliance,” she said. “It’s like a whole level of trust is gone out the window. It’s like they’re coming in to find fault. That is fundamentally wrong. If we sign up to their scheme they own us, they are micromanaging us within an inch of our lives. And that is no joke.”