Press Releases

Published date: 03 Sep 2024

Budget 2025 needs to invest in community early years providers working with the most marginalised children to give them an equal start in life

The Children’s Rights Alliance is today (03.09.2024) calling on Government to ramp up investment in its own Equal Start programme – a new model of early years provision that focuses on wraparound supports for very young children experiencing poverty – with €50 million in Budget 2025 to deliver on its promise of an equal start for every child.

Speaking ahead of End Child Poverty Week’s second event, focused on early years, Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance said:

“Investment in our early years services is the single most effective way of breaking the cycle of poverty. Poverty has unimaginable consequences for very young children. They fall behind in developing play and social skills, they do not reach growth and development milestones at the same pace as other infants, and it can severely impact their access to basic nutrition and healthcare. It can bring uncertainly, instability and dangers into their environment. Now imagine that for children under the age of three. Children born into poverty do not have an equal start in life. Early years services are a vital frontline support for these children, trusted to deliver high quality education and care while at the same time addressing the detrimental impact poverty, disadvantage and social exclusion can have on children so young.”

The Needs of the Children in the Services

“Ahead of End Child Poverty Week this year, we carried out an anonymous snapshot survey through our members and stakeholders to get an insight into the reality of this public service for community and not-for-profit settings. We received 37 responses and while only a snapshot, the respondents support 5,783 young children in their services and tell a startling story of the need for rapid and ramped-up investment in early years programmes focused on breaking the cycle of poverty. Community, not-for-profit early years providers make up about a quarter of the entire early years system, but they are seeing some of the highest levels of poverty in the children that they care for.”

“What is clear from just this small window into the sector, there are thousands of very young children in need of specific, wraparound supports to give them the best start in life. Access to affordable childcare alone is simply not enough to combat the adverse childhood experiences at play. Of this small sample of services supporting shy of 6,000 children, a third reported the need for security and/or safe home environment (31% of services), with others highlighting some children do not have access to public healthcare in their community (43% of services).

More than 2 in 5 of the services that responded shared insights on the prevalence of food poverty, reporting that children do not have access to sufficient food outside of the service (43% of respondents). If that isn’t shocking in itself, how this food poverty presents in their services is an arresting image – more than a third (33%) of services say children show up hungry to the services and 1 in 10 (11%) services reported observing children hiding food to take home or asking for extra food at mealtimes.”

 

Snapshot Survey: 37 providers, supporting 5,783 children

• The services work with the most marginalised children in society: 94.3% of services said they worked with children from a migrant/ethnic background, 72% said they worked with Traveller children and 65.7% said they worked with children living in homeless accommodation
• Key challenges identified by respondents for the children in their service included: All services (100%) identified speech and language development as a key challenge, 94.3% of services noted emotional wellbeing and social interaction, and 81.8% identified health and physical development as a key challenge
• 78% of services reported that they have a waiting list; the longest waitlist reported was three years, with the average across the services that responded at 17 months.
• Every respondent said they work with children with additional needs (100% of services)

“Equal Start is the refreshing rethink we needed of how we can reform our early years system to reach the children growing up in the worst levels of poverty. Positively, this new funding model includes a set of both universal and targeted supports that are required. However, it cannot deliver on its promise without a significant increase in investment in Budget 2025.  If Government believe in what this programme aims to achieve, we need to see that backed up with at least €50 million in October,” said Tanya Ward.

The Children’s Rights Alliance is calling for ‘A Children’s Budget’ with specific investments in early years that would break the cycle of poverty including the investment of €50 million in the roll out for the new Equal Start Model to support access and participation in early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) for children and their families who experience disadvantage.

“The Government is miles ahead of other countries in its publication of First 5 – the ten-year strategy which in essence is the Ireland’s roadmap on how we will deliver better outcomes for children. Equal Start is a way to ensure children in poverty are not left miles behind their peers. We want to see the same level of ambition and importance given to a strategy, given to the new programme that is the Government’s opportunity to get things right from the very start. Only with increased and sustained investment, can it have a transformative impact on the next generation.”

 

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Contact:

For media queries please contact:
Robyn Keleghan: [email protected] / M + 353 85 800 1275

 

Notes to Editors:

• Media are invited to attend the event in person in The Ark (11A Eustace St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 A590), Tuesday 3 September, 10.30am. For online viewing, click here.
• The event is chaired by Dr Cliona Hannon (CEO of the Katharine Howard Foundation and speakers include: Stuart Buchanan, Head of Children and Family Services at YMCA Dublin, Louise Bayliss, Spokesperson and Founding Member at SPARK Ireland, Maria O’Dwyer, National Coordinator at The Prevention and Early Intervention Network (PEIN), Mark Brennan, Project Leader at Barnardos Ireland, Emma Archbold, Campaigns and Communication, Children’s Rights Alliance

• Children’s Rights Alliance spokespeople are available for media interviews, other speakers available upon request.
• The Children’s Rights Alliance anonymous snapshot survey was carried out between 9 August and 23 August 2024, with 37 responses.
• The latest Pobal, Early Learning and Childcare Data details the number of private and community settings: available here.
• The Children’s Rights Alliance Pre-Budget Submission (August 2024) is available here.

• The Children’s Rights Alliance Child Poverty Monitor 2024 is available here: (Early Years section pp. 38 – 47)
• End Child Poverty Week is supported by Community Foundation Ireland, The Fidelis Foundation and the Katharine Howard Foundation. The week-long series of events focuses on five thematic areas of child poverty, the root causes and the best practice solutions needed to break the cycle of poverty for children and young people. Details of the other events are available here.

About the Children’s Rights Alliance:
Founded in 1995, the Children’s Rights Alliance unites over 150 members working together to make Ireland one of the best places in the world to be a child. Further information is available at: www.childrensrights.ie or on Twitter, @ChildRightsIRL #EndChildPovertyWeek #ChildrensBudget25