State 'should move to publicly-funded childcare model'
Roderic O'Gorman, the Children's Minister, will present plans to Cabinet today proposing a childcare model funded from the public purse.
The State should move to a childcare model that is funded from the public purse in partnership with childcare providers, a new report will tell the Government today.
Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman will bring the report of the expert group on a new funding model for early learning and childcare to Cabinet. Sources say the report proposes that services be "increasingly publicly-funded and publicly-managed through a partnership between the State and providers".
This will include the near €800m core funding stream set out in this year's Budget, alongside specific funding streams for services operating in "the context of concentrated disadvantage".
Mr O'Gorman will also bring a memo outlining a workforce plan for the sector that will support the development of staff in the sector.
A Cabinet source said that the report calls for "a lot more State funding" in the area of childcare, and is built on the Government's commitment to reach 1% of GDP spent on childcare by 2028. One of its recommendations in the report focuses on the need to train and retain staff in the sector, which the Government has said its budget measures will do.
Cabinet will also discuss the Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2021 from the Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien which will require builders to register with the Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI). It is designed as a consumer protection bill and sources say the transition of CIRI from a voluntary register to statutory is "about promoting a culture of compliance and quality in the construction sector".
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will update Cabinet on the Shared Island Initiative, outlining the achievements of the first year, and plans for investments across every Government department from next year, while Arts Minister Catherine Martin will update Cabinet on the additional funding which she has received to support the events industry.
