Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2021
633. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way in which it is safe for staff, children and families to return to preschools while primary and secondary schools are closed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1401/21]
View answerPublic health experts have confirmed that Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services may continue to operate during the current Level 5 restrictions. While no environment is without risk in relation to Covid-19, and this has been the case throughout the pandemic, services can significantly reduce their risk level by closely following the expert guidance provided by the HSE, which was prepared specifically for ELC and SAC services by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). It is also important to remember that the incidence of Covid-19 positive cases in children under 13 remains significantly lower than the population at large.
The Government decided to delay the reopening of schools until 1 February in order to minimise the movement of people at a time of significantly elevated levels of infection of Covid-19 in the community. The decision is not connected to the risk level of the setting (e.g. Schools or ELC/SAC services) but rather due to the Government's desire to reduce all movement of people in so far as possible, and so reduce the chance of the virus spreading. For this reason the reopening of the ECCE programme has been postponed until 1 February, and ELC/SAC services will only be open to children of essential workers and vulnerable children.
The advice from the national public health experts is that no change is required to the Infection Prevention and Control guidance for settings providing ELC/SAC during the pandemic. Services have been following this guidance effectively since reopening last June and it has helped to minimise risk of spread of infection within settings. My Department, in conjunction with the HSE, will keep this under review and will update as appropriate.
