Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2020
763. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on a matter (details supplied) relating to the provision of childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12089/20]
View answerOn 10 June I announced a comprehensive support package worth €75m to support services to open from 29 June. In addition to the resumption of scheme payments, I have included a number of other measures in this package to support services to reopen, including:
- A Reopening Support Payment (RSP) of €18m for centre-based services, to help them with operational costs
- A capital grant of €14.2m, which can be used by services to adhere to the reopening guidelines by improving hygiene facilities and outdoor play areas,
- The continuation of Revenue’s Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, to support services in meeting their staff costs.
A key purpose of the above funding is to ensure that ELC and SAC services will not have to charge higher fees than they did pre-COVID-19, even though the costs of providing their service may increase in some circumstances. This was designed to benefit parents and children returning to these services.
All ELC and SAC services can avail of all elements of the funding package for which they are eligible. A detailed set of FAQs was published on 12 June to ensure that providers are fully informed of the new funding package. These include information on eligibility and the practicalities of applying.
The RSP is available at two levels, standard and enhanced. To receive enhanced RSP, among other requirements, the service must open full-time where the definition of full-time is greater than 5 hours per day, 5 days per week. This opening must also be in accordance with the service type on the Tusla register. Eligibility for the enhanced RSP does not require that children must be attending full time; rather, the requirement is that the service is open greater than 5 hours per day. Services that choose not to open full time may instead avail of the standard RSP, so long as they meet the eligibility criteria.
Parents and providers work together to decide on the amount of ELC and SAC that is needed and can be provided. As ELC and SAC providers are private entities, they set their own sessions and admissions policies. This is unrelated to a service provider's entitlement to RSP.
A key policy priority for my Department is the sustainability of the ELC and SAC sector and hence it has and continues to work intensively to support services to reopen after COVID-19. The reopening funding aims to support providers to reopen, staff to remain in the sector, parents to resume work, and children to benefit from quality ELC and SAC.
