The chairperson of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers has said that providers want to be allowed a realistic fee increase for those stuck in historical fee freezes in the sector.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Elaine Dunne said that those in serious financial difficulty are those stuck in historical fee freezes dating back to 2016-2017 or 2021, as well as the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) part of the sector.
She added that a lot in the ECCE sector have closed down nationally, with 32 in Dublin alone closing in June and the question needs to be raised as to why.
The ECCE provides early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age.
Ms Dunne added that in rural Ireland, things have taken a big hit and opening a new facility elsewhere is not always like for like.
She said that for providers in the sector, costs are not coming down and core funding did not address these costs of doing business.
Speaking on the same programme, the Minister for Children has said that his department has made a change to core funding, so that childcare providers can make an application to increase fees and create equality compared to other providers in their area.
Roderic O'Gorman said that the process involves looking at their costs to see if change is necessary and if it is sustainable to make that change.
"Some services have been granted this as part of the process which is ongoing," he said, adding that 8% of service providers have made the application so far to be considered.
He said that every year some services will close, for example due to retirement, and that ultimately the State needs to be even further involved in early learning and care.
Mr O'Gorman argued that the ECCE should be a legal right, and this would place a greater responsibility on the State to deliver childcare services.
He said that he was conscious of the situation currently faced by the sector and parents, saying providers were in a difficult sector with increased costs and there are pressures there.
He said that his Green Party would like to see the State involved in providing childcare services in areas where it does not exist.
"We need to take the next step now," he said, in order to be like more other EU countries.
But Childhood Services Ireland said the early childhood education and care system in Ireland needs a significant review in order to best serve children, parents and providers.
"When the current system was designed by the Department's expert group, early childhood education and care providers were not included in that group," said Stephanie Roy, Director of Childhood Services Ireland.
"We urgently need a new policy that includes the input of providers to ensure that their needs are reflected and to ensure that children and families are central to that policy."
