Every level of the early years sector, including the Federation of Early Childhood Providers and Childhood Services Ireland, must come to the table and attend important pay talks for early years educators, according to Social Democrats children spokesperson Aidan Farrelly.<\/p>\n
Deputy Farrelly said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in early years education and childcare continues to cast a dark shadow over the sector and threatens to undermine \u20ac45m of state-provided financial support currently on the table for workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe minimum rate of pay for an Early Years Educator (\u20ac15 per hour) is substantially below the Living Wage, and for that reason we are seeing staff turnover prevailing as a key issue within the sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly years educators might not have HGVs to bring to the motorways, but their commitment to a crucial role within our society should not be undervalued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith that in mind, we should see all stakeholders come to the table now.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy worry is for early years educators, but equally for the children and families for whom they work so tirelessly. If conditions do not improve within the sector for workers, we will continue to see a turnover of staff that is unsustainable, and thus places become even harder to find.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 21st, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every level of the early years sector, including the Federation of Early Childhood Providers and Childhood Services Ireland, must come to the table and attend important pay talks for early years educators, according to Social Democrats children spokesperson Aidan Farrelly. Deputy Farrelly said: \u201cThe ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in early years education and childcare […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[396,296,540,218,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aidan-farrelly","category-childcare","category-children","category-education","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n