Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 May 2020
864. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding helping the education and childcare sector to reopen; the supports that will be available to the operators of these facilities to enable them to get up and running as soon as possible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7387/20]
View answerOn Friday 1 May, the Government released its Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, which sets out Ireland's plan for lifting COVID-19 restrictions through five phases. The re-opening of Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare (ELC and SAC) services will be guided by this framework and will be underpinned by the Government's Return to Work Safely Protocol, expert advice, available evidence and consultation with ELC and SAC stakeholder representatives and providers themselves.
The future stages of the Roadmap's re-opening of ELC/SAC services are stated as follows:
Phase 3 (29 June), opening of crèches, childminders and preschools for children of essential workers in a phased manner with social distancing and other requirements applying.
Phase 4 (20 July), opening of crèches, childminders and preschools for children of all other workers on a gradually increasing phased basis and slowly increasing thereafter.
The sector has many questions regarding how the Roadmap will be implemented to enable services to re-open. While the COVID-19 emergency called for overnight action on closures, it is my ambition that the phased re-opening will enable sufficient time and planning to re-open in an orderly, safe and sustainable manner. I would like to reassure providers, practitioners, parents and children that I will be doing my utmost to support the sector in offering as smooth a transition as possible to the phased and restricted re-opening of ELC and SAC services.
I am actively engaging with key stakeholders in the sector to make sure that the work on re-opening services is informed by the practical reality across the country. I have established and Chair an Advisory Group that includes representatives chosen by the sector, specifically the Association of Childhood Professionals, Community Forum, Early Childhood Ireland, National Childhood Network, PLÉ and Seas Suas. The group also includes Tusla, Pobal, SIPTU and Childminding Ireland. The first meeting of this Advisory Group took place on 13 May and I held follow up meetings on 15 and 19 May. A schedule of weekly meetings has also been agreed.
The proposals for re-opening which are in development will have due regard to public health guidance over the phases of easing of restrictions. I am conscious that the proposed timelines are subject to further NPHET advice, and decisions from Government.
I have already put in place a number of supports to assist ELC and SAC providers in this time. TheTemporary Wage Subsidy Childcare Scheme (TWSCS), launched by my Department on 15 April, builds on the wider provisions by Government and also recognises the unique place and importance of the ELC and SAC sector. It provides funds for staffing and overhead costs, while ensuring that parents are not charged fees for the duration of the scheme.
As part of pre-existing sustainability funding, financial supports are available for community services presenting with sustainability issues following a financial assessment by Pobal. My Department has begun to consider whether this sustainability funding can be extended to private services during the pandemic.
These sector-specific supports are complemented by the range of supports across Government, many of which can also be availed of by ELC and SAC providers. This includes grants and loans for small businesses, advice and support from Local Enterprise Offices, the cancellation of commercial rates for a period, and a re-opening grant for small and medium enterprises. Further information on these supports is available from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
There are a number of key decisions to be made across Government that will impact significantly on the ELC and SAC sector, including the future of emergency measures such as the Revenue operated Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection operated Pandemic Unemployment Payment, and other business supports. The proposals for re-opening ELC and SAC services necessarily interact with these schemes and so I will be relying on whole of Government plans, which impact the ELC and SAC sector.
It is my fervent hope that every ELC and SAC service around the country is currently considering how it can be part of helping Ireland get back to work, and how it can support children from 29 June in the very difficult circumstances they have experienced in recent months.
I will undertake to update the Deputy as soon as the work on re-opening services is at a more advanced stage.
