Low pay is a concern among the vast majority of early years professionals, according to a survey.
The survey was carried out by the Siptu union among over 1,000 early years professionals.
The survey notes improvements in the childcare sector over the past two years, mentioning Core Funding in 2022 which saw over €1 billion a year support an initial pay deal and reduced fees for parents.
Although the survey acknowledges increased investment in the sector, low pay, poor conditions and high levels of stress and burnout are contributing to a recruitment and retention crisis.
“Despite recent pay increases, the minimum rate of pay for an early years educator is €13.65 per hour, €1.15 below the Living Wage of €14.80,” said Avril Green, chairwoman of the Early Years Union at Siptu.
“Simply put, we cannot afford to stay in our profession.”
Of the 1,315 respondents to the survey, 86 per cent said low pay was their biggest work issue, with 68 per cent citing pressure due to staff shortages as another major concern and 65 per cent citing stress and burnout.
The survey suggests that 95 per cent of early years educators can only make ends meet with “difficulty” or “great difficulty”, and for all grades of staff, including managers, 78 per cent were unable to cope with an unexpected expense, such as replacing a washing machine.
For managers, stress and burnout was identified as their biggest work issue (73 per cent).
Some 30 per cent of managers surveyed said that problems recruiting and retaining staff will result in service closure – an increase of 6 per cent since the last Early Years Professionals Survey in 2022.
30 per cent of managers also reported that their service is at risk of closure due to the staffing crisis.
Of those surveyed, 55 per cent worked in a private setting and 45 per cent in a community setting. A total of 14 per cent of respondents were based in Dublin, 11 per cent in Cork and the rest spread across the remaining counties.
Its findings are to be presented to politicians in Leinster House on Thursday.
