Childcare services may be restricted or face potential closure due to an inability to recruit and retain staff according to a new study.
The SIPTU Early Years Staffing Survey reveals that 39% of early years educators are actively looking for work outside of their profession with low pay cited as the main reason.
This increases to 41% for lead educators who generally have higher qualifications.
The study found that 64% of managers and owners of childcare facilities believe that challenges recruiting and retaining staff will affect the quality of services with 39% of them saying it could lead to service closures.
68% of managers and owners said they were finding it "extremely difficult" to recruit staff with poor pay identified as the "biggest obstacle" to recruitment.
SIPTU Head of Strategic Organising Darragh O’Connor said that the new 'Core Funding' model being introduced by the Government will help to raise thousands of childcare workers out of poverty.
"SIPTU is calling on the Government to build on this foundation in the upcoming budget and recognise the contribution early years educators make to the economy, society and the lives of children," Mr O'Connor said.
