High staff absences caused by Covid-19 and staff shortages are forcing crèches around the country to close or reduce opening hours.
This comes as a survey of Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Care (SAC) providers by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth shows 14% of staff were out of work this week – 7% due to Covid-19 infection; 4% because of self-isolation; and 3% for other reasons.
Representative groups claim that in some crèches, up to a third of staff are out.
The survey, which sampled 301 services, also showed staff absences resulted in the closure of 9% of pods, or groups in which children play. It also shows 4% of the crèches surveyed were closed, compared to 11% last week.
The figures, which are part of an ongoing weekly survey of City and County Childcare Committees - the bodies that coordinate the implementation of childcare policy throughout Ireland - also show 57% of the services that remained open had at least one staff absence - down from 61% the previous week.
The survey shows a pattern of improvement in Covid-19 infections in childcare settings over the past seven weeks.
A month ago, 31% of staff were absent in the surveyed services. The percentage rates dropped to 17 last week and 14% this week.
Groups representing staff and crèche owners say staff absences and shortages are causing a "ultimate crisis" and impacting children, parents and staff.
Early Childhood Ireland, which has 4,000 members who run pre-schools and crèches, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that "every given day is a roller coaster for providers" and in some cases 30% of staff are out in some services.
Teresa Heeney, CEO of Early Childhood Ireland, said: "I have heard everything from full attendance of staff up to 30% of staff out.
"We are hearing of individual pods and services closing, as services try to stay open and keep as much of their service available to children and families as possible."
Ms Heeney added that if childcare services or providers have restricted numbers of staff, they are asking parents to only bring children to crèche if it is essential.
"Some services are shortening the day. Instead of opening at 7.30am, they are opening at 8.30am and closing early because they don't have enough staff to cover a full day," added Ms Heeney.
"These issues that we are experiencing now didn't begin two years ago when Covid-19 arrived, they began many years before that, with insufficient levels of investment.
"The staff working in the sector need the kind of terms and conditions of employment that similar colleagues in other sectors enjoy."
Service inundated with calls and emails
The Association of Childhood Professionals, which represents practitioners in early years and school age childcare, says it too is inundated with calls and emails relating to staffing and Covid-19.
It says what is happening is a perfect storm and that there is an urgent need for better pay and conditions for workers, because they are leaving the industry.
"We are inundated with calls and emails in relation to this. Services have tried to recruit staff and, in some cases, it could be upwards of six months," said Marian Quinn, Chairperson of the Association of Childhood Professionals.
"They are having to close rooms because they don’t have enough staff to meet the minimum ratio."
She added pre-pandemic staffing shortages, which have not gone away, and increased absence levels due to Covid-19 are causing a "perfect storm of nightmare" for families and leads to reduced hours and capacity at childcare facilities.
One crèche owner told Morning Ireland she is down 30% on what her staff number should be. A combination of staff absences due to Covid-19 and staff shortages is creating an "ultimate crisis".
"We have huge staff shortages. It’s exacerbated by Covid, but it's not just a Covid problem. We could see the build-up to this pre-Covid, but put Covid on top of it and we’re just in an ultimate crisis," said Karen Clince, CEO of Tigers Childcare, which has 13 branches in Ireland.
"We probably have a 30% shortage of what we would need to have within our staffing. Because of Covid, your general staffing numbers are about 115% of what they should be - that’s just making things quite a bit more difficult."
Ms Clince added the impact is that rooms are shutting, parents cannot get a childcare place and her crèches are forced to tell parents at short notice their children cannot be taken.
She said staff are leaving childcare because the "wages are not sustainable enough" for people to be "able to make ends meet".
As an employer, Ms Clince said she could not pay more.
"We can’t. If we pay more, we become unsustainable. The only way we can pay more is to put up our fees," she said.
Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman lauded childcare services for remaining open throughout the pandemic.
The minister added he is working is continuing to improve pay and conditions for childcare professionals.
"Early learning and childcare providers and their staff have shown huge commitment to children and families throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and have successfully implemented infection control measures to keep the children in their care safe," said Mr O’Gorman.
"I am conscious of the impact of Covid-19 within services, and throughout the pandemic, we have sought to support services remain open, through the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme, grants to improve ventilation in services, and a temporary student employment scheme.
"As we enter 2022, I am determined to drive improvements in staff pay and conditions, and ensure that pay for childcare professionals reflects the work that they do. We have begun implementation of a new workforce development plan, and the Joint Labour Committee is continuing its work," he added.
