Norma Foley
Question:1026. Deputy Norma Foley asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the measures and works which will be required in childcare facilities going forward to meet Covid-19 requirements. [9317/20]
View answerWednesday, 3 June 2020
Questions (1026)
Written answers
On 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.
Expert guidance on the safe reopening of childcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic was published by the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) on Friday, 29 May. The guidance recommends use of a “play pod” model which restricts interactions between closed groups of children and adults as an alternative to social distancing, on the basis that social distancing is not possible between young children. Based on advice provided by the HPSC I do not propose to change Regulations in relation to either the adult-child ratios or the floor-space requirements for ELC or SAC services as such changes are unnecessary where "play pods" are in use.
Services are now being asked to apply the guidance to their setting and determine what capacity they may offer. It is expected that a significant amount of capacity will be available in individual services that reopen in the summer, subject to, for example, their space, room layout and staffing availability. Whilst there are 4,500 Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare services in the country, fewer than 2,000 of these normally remain open in July and August.
I have been engaging intensively with a number of organisations representing the childcare sector, through an Advisory Group. A range of additional guidance and resources to assist the sector to prepare for reopening are currently being prepared and will start to issue in the coming days and continue over the remaining weeks before opening.
Since 2015 my Department has administered an annual capital funding programme, under which service providers registered with Tusla are invited to apply for capital funding to increase the capacity of their services, or to maintain and improve their services.
In 2020 I secured €7.2m in capital funding for early learning and care (ELC) and school age care (SAC). I launched the application programme for the 2020 Capital Programme on 28 February but this had to be suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
I am currently reviewing the allocation of the 2020 capital budget and I intend to launch a new capital grant programme in the coming days. In doing so, I am conscious that demand for childcare services after COVID may be reduced, at least initially. I believe the best use of capital funding in 2020 will be made through supporting services and places already in existence, to reopen after the closure period, and to support them meet the new HPSC guidance.
The application process for the 2020 Capital programme, which will be administered by Pobal, will go live shortly.