Poor-quality crèche care ‘still a problem’

Poor-quality care and conditions are still a problem in some crèches more than a year after a shocking investigation prompted public outcry.

Latest inspection reports on a number of facilities in the Dublin area found staff employed without references or Garda vetting, poor hygiene, lax security, cold rooms, inadequate equipment, and unsecured doors and staircases.

Start Strong, a coalition of organisations and individuals involved in childcare and early education, said the latest findings showed little had been done to tackle problems in the sector, despite the furore caused by the RTÉ Prime Time: Breach of Trust programme last year.

Toby Wolfe, acting director of Start Strong, said: “Very little has been done to improve the situation. The number of complaints made by parents has actually increased since Prime Time. And the problem of low wages, poor working conditions and insufficient numbers of trained staff is still widespread.”

A backlog of previously unpublished inspection reports began to appear online for public viewing following a Department of Health and Children policy change last year, and fresh reports appear periodically. How3ver, with around 4,700 crèches and pre-schools in the country, there can be long gaps between inspections.

There is also a lack of effective sanctions for crèche owners who seriously breach the regulations, or who fail to address specific issues once they are raised by an inspector — despite the fact that many receive state support through grants or payment for running the Early Child Care and Education Scheme.

More than 4,200 childcare providers participated in the ECCE programme during the pre-school year 2013/2014 and more than 220 new providers have applied to participate.

“The Government must introduce a mechanism to withdraw public funding where a service doesn’t meet quality standards,” Mr Wolfe said.

He also called on Minister for Children James Reilly to publish the long-awaited National Early Years Strategy. The strategy, the first of its kind in this country, is intended to provide a detailed national plan for the provision of child care, and pre-school education for the under-sixes, and was first announced more than two and a half years ago.