Kathleen Funchion
Question:721. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of continuing the wage subsidy scheme for childcare workers at 85%. [18600/20]
View answerTuesday, 28 July 2020
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Written answers
On 25 July, I announced a package of measures to support the Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare sector as remaining services reopen in late August/early September.
Access to the Revenue Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) within the July Stimulus will bring total funding provided by Government to the sector between 24 August and 31 December to just under €300m. A special exemption for early learning and childcare services to the turnover rule within EWSS will be included to recognise the need to retain capacity in the sector and support parents to access childcare places and get back to work.
I believe this package of measures will support services to operate in a sustainable manner. This funding was needed to cover the costs of operating with lower occupancy due to reduced parental demand, a feature I hope will change over time, and to cover extra, public health related costs.
The cost of this package to the end of the year is estimated at €87.4m EWSS and €211m for DCYA schemes and sustainability. This totals €298.4m. Services operating from 24 August to end 2020 with EWSS will have approximately 65% of payroll costs covered. The estimated cost of continuing this wage subsidy scheme to cover 85% of payroll costs on a strictly pro rata basis is approximately €114m. This assumes usual payroll costs continue to be incurred. However, changes to usual staffing levels will be needed for this operating period in order to implement public health guidance. Therefore estimated costs covering different percentage of staff costs can differ significantly due to different operating conditions and staffing requirements.