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Covid-19 Pandemic

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2020

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Questions (63)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

63. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if requests for PPE have been made by childcare and early years education providers since August 2020; and if so, if he will provide a breakdown of same. [31346/20]

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Written answers

Expert guidance on the operation of Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services during the COVID-19 pandemic has been published by the HPSC and is available at https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/childcareguidance/.

The HPSC advice is that additional PPE, over and above normal requirements for ELC and SAC services, is not required to be used by staff while they are caring for children.

It is important to note that the sector already had cleaning, hygiene and infection control measures in place before COVID and the good practice in the sector has been a significant contributor to the relatively low incidences of COVID in services since they began reopening almost 4 months ago, on June 29.

In line with normal practice in these services, the HPSC guidance sets out that staff should wear disposable, single-use plastic aprons, and non-powdered, non-permeable gloves when there is a risk of coming into contact with body fluids (such as when nappy changing). Supplies of these should be readily available in services.

The HPSC has advised that services should keep a small supply of surgical masks in a readily accessible place for use by a staff member who develops symptoms of COVID-19, or by staff members caring for a sick child who is waiting to be collected by a parent.

The guidance provides the following clarification on the use of face coverings in a childcare setting:

“The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) recommends the use of cloth face coverings in certain indoor settings. This guidance is applicable to adults in childcare settings where it does not pose a barrier to care. This includes situations where there is interaction between adults when not caring for children.

If a childcare worker wishes to use a face covering but this may pose a barrier to care, they may consider use of a visor. Visors should extend from above the eyes to below the chin and from ear to ear.”

Responsibility for accessing supplies of PPE for safe operation of services is a matter for the individual service provider. The cost and sourcing of PPE was raised as an issue by provider representatives at meetings of the Department's Advisory Group on Reopening during Covid. In order to assist services with reopening, the Department has put financial supports in place, including a once-off reopening grant, and access to the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme which covers approximately 38% of services' operating costs, in addition to Departmental schemes and parental income.

These measures are being very effective is assisting providers with their operating costs.

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