Thomas Byrne
Question:884. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department has engaged substantially with an organisation (details supplied) in reference to the Covid-19 crisis. [7819/20]
View answerWednesday, 27 May 2020
Questions (884)
Written answers
The Deputy is aware that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented situation that has required a series of emergency responses from the Government and my Department.
My Department and I are engaging extensively with stakeholders in the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age (SAC) sector, including the representative group referred to by the Deputy.
Consultation with stakeholders has always been central to the work of my Department, and the Early Years Forum (EY Forum) is a key part of this. The EY Forum meets several times a year and includes representatives of providers, parents and academics with an interest in the ELC and SAC sector. I established the ‘EY Forum Plus’ in March 2020 to widen representation by the sector, to aid my Department in developing a response to Covid-19. The group referred to by the Deputy is a member of this Forum Plus group, which has met on a number of occasions over the past three months. In addition, there has been a number of informal engagements by its representative where officials have listened to the group's views and experiences, and provided information.
I recently established an Advisory Group on the phased re-opening of childcare services, which had its first meeting on 13 May. When establishing the group, I made six places available to the sector. The sector itself chose its six representatives. These include representatives from the Association of Childhood Professionals, Seas Suas, PLÉ, the National Children's Network, the National Community Forum and Early Childhood Ireland. Many of these represent providers. Childminding Ireland and SIPTU also sit on the group.
A number of provider representative groups have contacted my Department seeking to be added to the membership of the Advisory Group, including the group referred to by the Deputy. In response to such requests, I have established a Reference Group, to supplement the work of the Advisory Group. I will chair the first meeting of the Reference Group on 28 May. The representative group referred to by the Deputy has accepted my invitation to join the Reference Group. I continue to encourage submissions from all representatives of the sector.