Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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2. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the joint labour committee will meet, following the announcement of funding for a pay increase for early years educators in budget 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43702/24]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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SIPTU and others, including educators within the early years sector, welcomed the funding increase the Minister announced as part of budget 2025. As previously, I presume the joint labour committee, JLC, will meet in order to determine what that increase will be. I am conscious of the work of the committee. Is the Minister aware of when it will meet on the back of the budget announcement?

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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We all recognise the hugely important work done by early learning and care staff and school-age childcare staff. We also recognise that the pay they receive does not meet the hugely important work that they undertake. It was my objective as Minister in the past four years to do more so that their pay would meet their requirements and recognise the hugely important role they play in supporting children's development, learning and care.

I wish to express my continued commitment to improving pay and conditions for early years educators. To date, outputs from the early years service JLC has seen two increases to the minimum rates of pay for workers in the sector. The first one impacted 70% of the sector and the second one impacted 50%.

As the Deputy said, in budget 2025 I secured an extra €15 million for next year across the full fourth year of core funding that will have a value of €45 million. That is absolutely contingent on a new employment regulation order. If we do not secure a new employment regulation order, ERO, and improved rates of pay for the various grades we have set, this money will not flow. It is really important that the Government is providing that carrot by looking to support increased levels of pay but the stick is the money will not flow if we do not secure this particular agreement.

As the Deputy knows, the JLC is an independent process. I must respect that. I might want to be more involved but I have to respect its independence. What I have done is put this money on the table and made it very clear that we will support the employers and providers and meet the cost of a raised rate of pay through this money I have provided for in budget 2025. I have always urged the parties to get around the table and have this agreement ready to go in September of next year.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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It is important the Minister makes that call again, as he has now, for them to get around the table because the last pay increase was 65 cent and it took 14 months to negotiate. Frankly, that does not give me much hope. We know that SIPTU looked for a €1.50 increase. We also know that come January, when the minimum wage increases, there will be 15 cent between the minimum wage of an early years educator and the minimum wage itself. That is not right. The JLC needs to come together as quickly as possible, particularly if it will take it months and months as it has before and on every other occasion to get to what will now be a new ERO.

We have to be mindful that not everyone wants to see the money go to wages all the time. We have to make sure the early years educators come first. They deserve decent pay and if they do not get it, we will continue to have a retention crisis and a lack of people coming into the sector.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The improvements to pay are absolutely crucial and we agree on recruitment and retention. We will not attract the young women and men who graduate from early learning and care degrees around the country, both level seven and eight degrees, into this sector if they do not see a long term future for themselves. That is why when I first introduced core funding, I linked it to rates of pay. That is why there is an allocation in core funding for rates of pay and it is why we have provided this funding allocation in budget 2025, which was directly linked to improving rates of pay.

Just before the budget, I met with representatives of a number of the provider organisations such as Childhood Services Ireland, the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, Seas Suas and a number of others and I made the point that I felt the previous JLC process went on for far too long. There was actually money on the table to support pay increases that the Department of public expenditure nearly got back, which frustrates everybody. I have made that point and I am happy to make it again here today.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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That is really helpful and important. We need to give certainty to early years educators that pay increases will come and they will continue to come. It is really important because we need to retain those we have; they are highly educated, highly professional, many of them have years of experience and we also need to encourage more people to join the profession. Where there is uncertainty about your wages and you cannot plan for the future, it makes it really difficult. When you are relying on a JLC that you do not know when it will meet and decide on a pay increase, it makes it really difficult.

The last JLC in particular did not cover itself in much glory when it took 14 months for a 65 cent pay increase which, frankly, was a slap in the face to these professionals. We must treat them properly and with the respect they deserve, which the Minister does and I take nothing away from that. He knows they deserve proper pay and I know that. We need to look at that JLC process and they need to be called around the table, as the Minister has done which I welcome, as quickly as possible to get this work done.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Significant steps have been taken over the last four years on improving pay but we absolutely need to go further. I would love to see a process initiated where we start to look at how we align the pay of early years professionals with the pay of other educators across our society. That will be expensive and we have to recognise that. It is really good value for the State because I see the investment and the work early years educators do with babies and young children and the support they give through education but also through care and supporting families with the decisions they make and balancing work and care commitments.

We have to recognise we are still not spending enough on early years education as a State. I have doubled it in the last four years but we still need to do more. A very significant portion of that additional funding, in my view, needs to be spent on aligning pay rates for early years professionals with other educators in our system.