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⚠️Early Years is at a breaking point and pretending otherwise helps no one.⚠️Today’s events have again pushed our sector...
18/12/2025

⚠️Early Years is at a breaking point and pretending otherwise helps no one.⚠️

Today’s events have again pushed our sector into public view. When that happens, it brings a familiar mix of hope, frustration, and deep exhaustion for those running services across the country.

Yesterday, Federation of Childhood Providers Ireland shared some of our views on RTÉ One News and this morning on Virgin Media Ireland Ireland AM to reflect a reality providers have been living with for years:

The pressures are real.
They are ongoing.
And they cannot be smoothed over with language that doesn’t match daily experience.

That moment mattered. Not because it fixes everything, but because it ensured reality was heard.

This is not about resilience. It’s about reality.

Across Ireland, those running early years services are carrying extraordinary responsibility. They manage teams, care for children, support families, meet regulatory demands, and hold services together. Often while quietly worrying about whether their service can survive another year.

When so many providers feel stretched, anxious, or unsure about the future, that is not a personal failing.

It is a system under strain.

Here is the contradiction at the heart of the system:

Early Years is treated as:

• a public service, with heavy regulation and social responsibility

• and a private business, without control over income or rising costs

This contradiction isn’t being resolved.

It’s being managed poorly year after year, by asking providers to absorb the pressure.

Providers are subject to fee freezes, while costs continue to rise.

Wages, insurance, utilities, food, materials, pensions, compliance costs and more are all increasing.

Core Funding increases, where they occur, are minimal and quickly swallowed by unavoidable costs, leaving little or no real relief at service level.

At the same time, providers are required to implement ERO wage increases while operating under capped income and not knowing the further costs and financially negative policies that are coming in the next wave. Funding does not cover the full cost of employment, including PRSI, pensions, sick pay, non-contact time, and more.

No amount of goodwill can make those numbers balance.

“Core Funding is unfortunately a choice without real choice” - Christopher Moran FECP Operations

Some services simply cannot afford to enter Core Funding without risking their viability. That is a financial reality, not a lack of commitment.

Yet services that have no option but to remain outside Core Funding are increasingly penalised year on year. Through reduced access to schemes, tighter restrictions, and growing disadvantage. While those in core funding pray that the next phase will have more funding than costs to bring some relief.

This issue with in and out of core funding has created an exclusionary system where:

• participation is framed as optional,
• but non-participation carries escalating consequences.
• with those in core funding subject to fee freezes unable to leave now as they have made the huge financial investment into their service that’s now in the red, the list goes on.

That is not a level playing field.
It is not sustainable.
And it must stop.

On “partnership” and consultation

Meaningful consultation means access to drafts, timelines, and real opportunities to influence decisions before they are final.

Being informed after the fact is not consultation.

When lived experience doesn’t match official narratives, it is reasonable and necessary to question the process.

People don’t open childcare services to get rich.
But they also don’t open them to struggle.

There is a quiet grief in watching work you care deeply about become harder to sustain each year, and a quiet strength in continuing to show up despite that strain.

Children are not protected by exhausting and financially draining the people who nurture and care for them. Quality grows where those providing it feel respected, secure, and supported.

Progress matters, but it isn’t enough

There are positive steps:

• growing public recognition of early years professionalism

• acknowledgement that this is skilled, meaningful work

• some possible reduction in administrative burden

• provider voices increasingly present in national discussion

These steps matter. They show that speaking up makes a difference.

But they do not replace the need for real, structural change.

What happens next matters

FECP has called a meeting on 7th January with sector representative bodies to present a clear, coordinated plan for collective action after an overwhelmingly strong appetite by members to do so focused on fairness, viability, and respect for providers and our sector as a whole.

This work is careful, deliberate, and rooted in lived experience.

Early Years cannot survive on goodwill alone.

Fee freezes alongside rising costs are damaging the sector.

Penalising providers for financial reality is not reform.

Silence is not consent.

Struggle should not be normalised.

This has to stop.

FECP

Join us at www.fecp.ie

19/11/2025

Creche operators say they are facing anger from parents over rising costs.

Yesterday was a very special day for our very own Dr. Roberta Hines and The Federation of Early Childhood Providers, whe...
15/11/2025

Yesterday was a very special day for our very own Dr. Roberta Hines and The Federation of Early Childhood Providers, when the Well Being of this sector was brought to the forefront of the Psychology Society of Ireland. We all know burn out and stress has and still is causing huge issues for many of us. Administration and lack of accessibility to funding that covers the cost of doing business is a huge part of our stressors and this will not change unless the government look at their own policies and reevaluate the funding model. It was great to get our voices heard loud and clear and to Dr Roberta you know I am your biggest fan. You have support this organization for a long time and you know us all so well. We appreciate everything you do. Your mindfulness classes over the years and just reaching out to providers who maybe overwhelmed. You are truly amazing as a friend and a colleague. So thank you 🙏.
We are so very proud of Dr. Roberta Hines and we would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Dr. Roberta Hines and Dr. Laura Gormley, for their continued support and help. This is a huge step in the right direction for us all and this recognition of the work that has taken place on our behalf is so very important. It shows the real pressure we are all under on a daily basis.

The Well-being of Early Childhood Providers" was well received at the 55th Psychological Society of Ireland's annual conference. Co-hosted by the amazing Dr. Laura Gormley, with the Federation of Early Childhood Providers.

🚨⚠️Irish Early Years Sector Survey Warns of Systemic Breakdown as Government Holds Course⚠️🚨The Irish early years sector...
06/11/2025

🚨⚠️Irish Early Years Sector Survey Warns of Systemic Breakdown as Government Holds Course⚠️🚨

The Irish early years sector is warning of a systemic breakdown after a meeting with the Department of Children this week offered little relief to providers already reporting profound financial instability, wage pressure, and service attrition. New national survey data presented at the meeting reveals extraordinary levels of dissatisfaction across nearly every operational metric, with more than 95% of providers supporting collective action.

The Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP), representing services across the country, said the figures demonstrate not a sector approaching crisis but one already in collapse.
According to the Department, there are now 4,527 registered services nationwide. FECP has requested a detailed breakdown, noting that a significant share appears to be school-age services rather than early years provision, a distinction that materially affects capacity reporting and policy direction.

Funding Increase Falls Short

The Employment Regulation Order (ERO), which took effect in October, was acknowledged by the sector as a marginal support. However, providers say the measure is nowhere near adequate to meet escalating costs.

All services must now review and confirm that wage rates comply with the ERO, a requirement that adds administrative burden without addressing underlying structural underfunding.

The Department confirmed it will maintain its fee management system.

No reopening of fee caps is planned in the immediate term. While officials referenced a potential annual fee review mechanism, the proposal remains speculative, with no detail or timeline.

New Reporting Mandate in 2026

Beginning in February 2026, all partner services will be required to submit a full trial balance — a level of financial monitoring many providers say will add yet another compliance cost as margins narrow further.

The Federation has also requested full accounting of applications to the sustainability fund, including how many services have accessed it and on what basis. No figures were provided at the meeting.

NCS Uptake Driven by School-Age Sector?

The Department reported a 31 percent increase in uptake of the National Childcare Scheme. FECP has again asked for a breakdown, arguing that the rise is primarily in school-age services and does not reflect improved viability within early years settings.

Meanwhile, the Department confirmed there will be no increase in funding for sponsorship chicks next year.

Registration Concerns

More than 3,400 services have completed Tusla re-registration. However, 173 services have not engaged, prompting concern that many have already closed quietly. All services must be re-registered by November 14 or risk losing funding.

Providers raised ongoing frustration around Garda vetting access, asking that copies be issued directly to services. The Department rejected the request, stating that vetting is held by Tusla and not shared with service providers as it was not necessary. A review is underway at the Department of Justice on this process. We have been assured that the disclosure document is the only item we need to have on file.

A recorded tutorial on pensions and auto-enrolment is expected to be posted to The Hive. No release date has been confirmed.

Our Survey Findings:

A Near-Total Rejection of Government Policy

The FECP survey, completed by 479 service owners — with many of our members operating multiple sites — offers a rare unanimity in public-facing sector data.

• 98% say current funding levels are inadequate.

• 97% say projected income for next year will be worse.

• 96% report that they cannot pay themselves properly.

97% say wage allocation does not cover costs, even excluding graduate roles and including pension auto-enrolment.

• 95% support collective action.

The data further reveals that 62% of providers face corporate tax bills exceeding €5,000 annually — despite widespread inability to pay their own wages sufficiently.

Providers describe a system in which the State controls fees, dictates wage standards, increases compliance obligations, and demands new financial disclosures, while the funding to support these obligations fails to materialise.

The result, they say, is that providers are effectively subsidising the national childcare system out of personal income.

“This is not partnership,” one provider said. “It is extraction.”

Operational Strain

ECCE providers reported a seven-week gap between the November and January payments. The Federation asked that January funds be released earlier; the Department said the request is under consideration.

On commercial rates, the Department is in discussions with the Department of Housing. The Federation has called for a direct meeting with the Minister.

The Department says that the newly increased AIM Level 7 rate of €18 per hour is covered within current funding — a claim many providers dispute based on operational budgets.

“Collapse in Motion”

Sector leaders say there is a widening disconnect between Government policy and frontline economic reality.

They note that infant care capacity continues to shrink; burnout and attrition are accelerating; AIM delays are excluding children from support; and closures are quietly spreading.

The FECP survey data, they argue, leaves little room for interpretation:

Stability: collapsed.
Sustainability: gone.
Wage integrity: impossible.
Provider income: insufficient.
Confidence in Government: evaporated.

In other sectors, a 98% rejection rate would trigger emergency intervention.

The Federation argues that early years education deserves equal seriousness.

A Turning Point

The Federation will convene a member meeting on Tuesday November 11th at 7 p.m. to determine next steps.

With 95% of respondents supporting collective action, the sector appears poised for a critical pivot.

“Providers are out of time, out of staff, and out of money,” the Federation said. “The only thing they are not out of is resolve.”

The message, they added, is not one of threatened collapse — but of collapse already underway.

“In any other national infrastructure — hospitals, schools, transport — these numbers would trigger immediate intervention.

Yet early years providers are expected to absorb loss after loss while carrying the workforce that allows the broader economy to function.”

The Federation warned that without immediate structural reform, the Government will “own the collapse of early years education in Ireland.”

The choice now, they say, is simple: intervene — or watch the system fall.

Thank you all for your support,

The FECP Team

Join us via the link in the comments below 👇

🚨⚠️ BUDGET 2026 ⚠️🚨A few quotes come to mind as we speak to members…“We Got Nothing — Not a Cent”“Ignoring Our Calls for...
08/10/2025

🚨⚠️ BUDGET 2026 ⚠️🚨

A few quotes come to mind as we speak to members…

“We Got Nothing — Not a Cent”

“Ignoring Our Calls for Help and Launching Building Blocks Expansion Grants… It’s Like Paying for a Celebrating Enough Funding for a Bike Shed While the House Falls Down.”

“Each Budget feels like we are loosing our businesses, We Will Not Stay Quiet.”

To our Members, our Educators, Parents and the Irish Public:

We came to the table in good faith.
We brought evidence.
We brought data.
We brought the truth.
Costed, proven, and backed by every inch of reality on the ground.
And what did we get?

Nothing.

Announcements before budget of an extra hour under the ECCE scheme without consultation. We find out on social media. How is this respectful ?

Not one reform to AIM. Children who are under 2.8 months left with no supports. We are on a wing and a prayer.

Not a whisper of an increase of funding in the direction of our European counterparts.

Not a word on infant care issues. How is this supporting working parents I ask?

Not a single plan to stem the closures that are hollowing out Ireland’s early years sector.

The only strategic plan I see is to close more services down.

Some areas are under subscribed with services and other areas are so over subscribed leaving empty places.

Where is the mapping process to show where the issues are?

Rural Ireland falling apart. Small Ecce services forced out of businesses in one clean swoop.

The only mention of the fee caps is how the department will bring fees down even lower next year with no extra funding to cover the cost of doing business. This must be questioned.

We hear of more ring fenced funding for our Early Years Educators greatly appreciate as always.

But how would many services remain open. Rooms closed as we cannot find staff.

It’s hard to believe this was not an oversight.
Was this a choice ?

A deliberate political decision to abandon?

It Feels Like A Kick in the Teeth to a Sector Already on Its Knees?

After holding this country’s childcare system together through years of chaos. Through underfunding, burnout, recruitment collapse, and rising costs.

This is the thanks we get?

We laid out practical, costed solutions that would have saved AIM, stabilised providers, and secured the future of early childhood care.

They saw every one of them — and still nothing.

Surely they know what’s happening. They’ve seen the collapse. And they did nothing.

Are we in the dark on a wider plan here to put our sector out of business?

Building Blocks Grants

In this Budget, the Government announced with great fanfare a “Building Blocks” fund to expand childcare infrastructure.

But here’s the truth:

You can build all the public services in areas but how will you staff them.

You don’t pour into new bricks and mortar when existing services are shutting their doors due to the issues we raise continuously .

More than 759 services have already closed.
How many have to go before someone with common steps in ?

Infant places are vanishing.

Across the country there are huge waiting lists & places half empty… The whole plan is an array of mismanagement.

Staff are leaving faster than we can hire.

Providers are running national childcare infrastructure from their own pockets.

We cannot continue to foot the bill for someone else’s mistakes..

The ship is sinking and instead of grabbing a bucket, they watch it happen.

If even a fraction of thought had gone into stabilising existing providers.

Raising ECCE capitation, fixing AIM, funding infant care, supporting staff mental health, this crisis could have been turned around.

Instead, the Government has chosen optics over outcomes.

They will claim they’ve “invested in wages” with €45 million in new funding.

Let’s call it what it is, survival money, not support.

They gave it because they know providers can no longer afford to increase the rates if pay for Early Years Educators. News flash we are in historical fee caps. The Core Funding is seriously flawed.

They tied our hands with fee freezes, stripped our flexibility with broken Core Funding, and then expected us to be grateful for scraps.

That’s not fairness. That’s farce.

The Government claims “record participation” in Core Funding..

we need the full breakdown of service types in Core Funding as the numbers are not adding up.

One newspaper saying 84% sign up another one saying 89% which is it How are these figures so different on the same day. school-age services are rising while early years services continue to fall.

Many providers were told to split their service into two registrations, inflating the totals.
The truth?

The losses are far higher than the official 700+.

This isn’t record uptake. It’s record exit.

This Is Not Partnership

Bills arrive monthly.
Staff leave weekly.
Parents panic daily.
This isn’t partnership.

We fears it may be a managed decline dressed up as dialogue.

We Are Angry — And We Are Done Being Ignored

We are the people holding Ireland’s Early Years system together, not politicians, not policy papers.

We are the Educators, the Providers, the Managers, the Parents and the Carers who get up every morning to serve children, families, and communities.

And we are finished being silenced.

To our members: Your anger is justified.

To the public: Know this…The people caring for your children are being driven to the edge.

To the Government:
This is only going to get worse.

We are not asking anymore.
We are demanding.
We are taking action.
We are not whispering for change.
We are roaring for survival.

Our Demands

1. Immediate reopening of the fee cap process with transparency of methodology.

2. ECCE capitation increase to real, sustainable levels.

3. Urgent resolution of AIM to insure all children with needs in our service are fully supported under AIM.

4. Pay our sector for the masses of assessments of needs that we undertake because your system is broken. Yet another thing we do for children in our services.

5. Reform of Core Funding before more exits.

6. Mental health supports for providers and staff.

7. Commitment to EU-average funding within three to five years (0.71% of GDP).

These are not requests. They are rescue measures.

This Budget wasn’t a breakthrough; it was a breaking point.

You cannot build on broken ground.

You cannot expand a system you refuse to sustain.

And you cannot call it “record investment” when the people delivering the service got nothing.

We got nothing. Not a cent. Time for an action plan.

Just talk of expansion grants — it’s like paying for a bike shed while the house falls down.

This time, we won’t stay quiet.

This time, we fight back.

Enough is enough.

🚨🔪A Death by a Thousand Cuts🔪🚨Ireland currently invests less than half the EU average in Early Years…We’ve been led up t...
06/10/2025

🚨🔪A Death by a Thousand Cuts🔪🚨

Ireland currently invests less than half the EU average in Early Years…

We’ve been led up the garden path for too long.

While government press releases boast of “record investment” and “affordable childcare,” the truth is far darker. Behind every promise of cheaper fees lies a silent crisis.

Providers being decimated by the day, crushed under the weight of a funding & policy model that squeezes the breathe from us all.

Parents please see, they hide the truth from you. The lower fees you’re promised come at a devastating cost and it’s brutal.

This choreographed dismantling of the nations Early Years Sector. The hollowing out of services, underfunding, over regulated paperwork, rampant negative bureaucracy and the loss of the very people who built the foundation of early learning in Ireland.

This is a death by a thousand cuts. Not sudden, but deliberate, quiet, and cruel.

And unless tomorrow’s Budget finally delivers real reform, there may soon be no Early Years sector left to save…

While promises of “record investment” will be echoed through press releases, the reality on the ground told a very different story. Early Years Services and our wondering Educators welcome children into services every day and support the Economy. So who is supporting is. Why are we left picking up the pieces, operating under the weight of chronic underfunding, inequitable supports, and policy decisions that continue to ignore the lived reality of services national. Why are we seeing so many sessional services close across ireland. We now see many different types of services pull out of Core Funding. Large, medium and small services are all saying the same thing. Core funding is inadequate and does not cover the cost of running a business.

We’ve spent the past year doing what we’ve always done…Providing evidence, data, and real stories from real people. We have been clear, consistent, and constructive. We’ve shown what’s wrong and what’s needed to fix it. Yet, our sector remains under pressure, our services stretched, and our voices too often drowned out by political spin.

So, as Budget 2026 looms, one question must be asked…has the Government finally listened?

Have they heard the providers on the brink, those who’ve held communities together for decades despite impossible margins?
Have they heard the educators who deliver excellence every day for pay that barely covers living costs?

Have they heard parents who see the cracks widening in a system that claims to support them, yet sidelines the very services they depend on?

Our sector doesn’t need another PR exercise. We need real reform. Better realistic funding, equitable treatment, and a stronger model that allows every type of provider to survive and thrive.

We’ve called for transparency, proportionality, and recognition of the unique challenges faced by larger, sessional and smaller services. We’ve made the case again and again that the early years we deserve as a nation cannot exist where fairness does not.

Ireland’s Early Years providers are not asking for handouts.

We are asking for honesty.
For respect. For policies that reflect the true cost of quality.

Tomorrow’s Budget will reveal whether this Government has truly heard the call… Or whether, once again, it will choose to ignore the people who lay the foundations of every child’s future.

One thing is certain: we will keep speaking up.

We will keep presenting the truth.

And we will not stop until the Early Years sector is finally given the fairness and respect it deserves.

03/10/2025

Well done to the Federation of Early Childhood Providers and all of our members. We have been instrument in getting this ERO across the line.
Thank you to you all for your support and help in bringing this across the line
Elaine Dunne.

Member Update: New Employment Regulation Order (ERO) Effective 13th October 2025

Hi everyone,

We wish to update you that the Minister for Enterprise has signed off on a new Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Early Years and School-Age Childcare sector. This new Order will revoke the 2024 ERO and will take effect from Sunday, 13th October 2025.

Key Points
• The new ERO provides for an average 10% increase in minimum hourly pay rates, affecting an estimated 35,000 staff in the sector.
• Approximately 67% of the workforce (around 23,000 staff) will see a direct wage increase as a result.
• New minimum hourly rates from 13th October 2025:

• Early Years Educators & SAC Practitioners: €15.00 (up from €13.65)
• Room Leaders/Coordinators: €16.00 (up from €14.70)
• Graduate Room Leaders/Graduate Coordinators: €17.50 (up from €16.28)
• Deputy/Assistant Managers: €18.00 (up from €16.49)
• Centre Managers: €19.00 (up from €17.33)
• Graduate Centre Managers: €20.25 (up from €18.11)

We are told that to support services in meeting these increased costs, the Government has announced an additional €45 million in ring-fenced Core Funding, bringing the total Core Funding allocation to over €390 million for the 2025/26 programme year.
• A new Staff Funding Additional Contribution will also be introduced within Core Funding to ensure this €45 million is directed towards covering increased pay obligations.

Next Steps & Our Position

From 13th October, all Services must ensure compliance with the new minimum pay rates.

We recognise the significant financial and operational impact this may have, and we will continue to provide guidance and support to members as these changes take effect.

We are also actively pushing for further clarity and detailed updates from the Department on how this ERO will be structured and implemented in practice. This forms part of our ongoing budget preparation and advocacy work to ensure that funding, sustainability, and staffing challenges are properly addressed.

We will share further practical information as soon as it becomes available.

Kind regards,
Elaine & Team

Have a lovely weekend everyone x

🚨⚠️This week we spoke to a number of Government officials. Deputy Dempsey and our ministers Advisor Aisling Dunne. Mark ...
03/10/2025

🚨⚠️This week we spoke to a number of Government officials. Deputy Dempsey and our ministers Advisor Aisling Dunne. Mark Wall, Secretary for Jack Chambers to name a few and to many media representatives who have expressed concern and aligned with us on the issues we raise consistently about our Early Years Sector. ⚠️🚨

Our chairperson Elaine Dunne is tirelessly advocating strongly to raise our voices higher daily and coming into budget we have one thing to say.

Let us be absolutely clear. We are not just here to make noise. We are here to ensure that our voices are heard and that our sectors futures are protected. We have been strong, but we will become even stronger. We will be more outspoken, more united, and more determined to make sure that every single one of you knows we are fighting for you.

We need every one of you to share our posts, amplify our messages, and make sure our collective voice is impossible to ignore. The days of silent consultation are over. We have shown up in the rooms, we have offered our expertise, and yet we still face decisions rolled out without notice or dialogue. That must end.

In fact, just this past month, two major initiatives were launched that directly impact our sector, with no provider consultation whatsoever. There was ample time in the Provider Forum and in previous consultations for our voices to be heard, the rectification of issues and how we can help it from having a negative impact and yet we were ignored. Decisions like fee freezes applications staying closed! And, each time we ask for the methodology on how providers are assessed so they can apply properly, we are ignored. Alongside other policy shifts were made without warning. This is exactly the breakdown in communication that must end.

We demand that the Government & The Department of Children truly listen and consult with independent provider bodies like ours. We have the trusted peer reviewed evidence, the logistics, and the proof of where things are going wrong. It is time they stand with us and hear us before making decisions that impact our entire sector.

And let us add this once again, as we have done year after year, we have told the government exactly where the problems are and how to fix them. If they do not act now, the damage in the next 12 months will be untold and irreparable for years to come.

We will continue to push all government officials. We will continue to raise our voices. And yes, we will continue to demand that ECCE capitation is raised to €100 in this Budget, immediately. We constantly raise our issues with the Fee Freezes, Policy Changes, Funding is not enough, AIM and more… introduce the raise in capitation & increase core funding. This will allow us to stave off the collapse of early years while we work with you to repair the damage that has occurred. We cannot float this sector on promises. We need real action now.

So we say this with one voice:

Listen to us. Stand with us. We are here for the benefit of all children, all educators, all families, and all providers. We are all one nation. Together, we are unstoppable. Together, we will make the change we need.

01/10/2025

01/10/25

Government failure has led directly to childcare crisis – Collins

Independent Ireland Party Leader Michael Collins has accused the Government of wilful negligence in the childcare sector, saying its failure to heed repeated warnings has left parents and providers facing a full-blown crisis.

Deputy Collins pointed to fresh figures obtained by The Journal which show that 51 providers have now withdrawn from the Core Funding scheme – the very scheme the Government claimed would safeguard affordability and sustainability.

“This is exactly what I warned about months ago,” Deputy Collins said. “In August I said providers were being driven out of business by a funding model that was utterly disconnected from the reality on the ground. The Government dismissed those concerns. Now the inevitable has happened – parents are being hit with fee hikes of €300 to €400 a month, and communities are losing services altogether.”

The Cork South-West TD said the exodus of providers from the scheme was the “clearest proof yet” that the Core Funding model, introduced in 2022, is not fit for purpose.

“The Minister was told repeatedly by providers, by sectoral representatives, and by members of the opposition that the scheme was underfunded, inflexible, and laden with red tape. Instead of listening, the Government chose to spin a story about stability and affordability. That story has now collapsed,” he said.

Figures show that the vast majority of withdrawals have taken place in the past two years, with 25 providers leaving the scheme ahead of the current school year alone. While 84 per cent of services remain in the scheme, Deputy Collins said this statistic masks the acute distress of families affected by closures and fee increases.

“What use is a percentage when your local crèche has closed its doors, or when you’re suddenly expected to find an extra €350 a month just to keep your child in care?” he asked. “This is not an abstract policy issue – this is parents having to cut their working hours, mothers in particular being forced out of the workforce, and children being denied early years education.”

Deputy Collins repeated his call for an emergency support fund to protect at-risk services and said the Government must immediately convene sector representatives to redesign the funding model.

“You cannot praise the vital role of early childhood education on one hand while strangling the sector with an unworkable funding system on the other. Providers warned this day was coming. I warned this day was coming. It is sheer arrogance on the part of Government to now pretend that this crisis has appeared out of nowhere.

“The collapse of services is not a distant threat – it is happening before our eyes. Families are paying the price for inaction. The Government must step in, and it must do so today, not next year and not after more closures.”

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