Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for attending here today. I wish to make a comment with respect to Mr. Bell's statement on the survey. The committee should write to the Department to understand the basis of that survey and whether SIPTU members were excluded from it. If that proves to be the case, we should bring it back to the committee for further review.

I would say to Ms Ní Sheaghdha that we are at a little bit of a crossroads here. She highlighted a number of issues in her statement today. First, I would say, and I think most people in the room would agree, that parental leave and annual leave should be restored to front-line healthcare workers who have had to take that leave. We know that schools are opening up and, therefore, the childcare issue for some front-line healthcare workers will be, we hope, sorted from here on in. I think Ms Ní Sheaghdha is asking for some kind of State-supported childcare initiatives, which will be very difficult to do in terms of the 24-7 rostering, which she outlined. Has her organisation developed or costed any concrete proposals around that or had any discussion with the Department on that?