Ms Marian Quinn:

Unfortunately, it is pretty much impossible to tell. We have spoken to providers around the country and some have said they will not be able to open. Many providers, having held discussions with parents, will be opening at 60% to 70% capacity but it depends where they are and the cohort of parents they have.

We know that every summer the majority of services do not open. Many services in Ireland are preschool services, so they tend to be bound by term time. My understanding is that last year about 1,800 services opened. The slack is typically taken up by summer camps. It is one of the most stressful times for parents, where they are going from pillar to post for summer camps. That will be a reality but the reliance on grandparents and family members has not been available and that capacity will not become available either. We just do not know. There are so many unknowns until services open up in terms of what the demand will be. People will know the demand from the engagement with their current families but for other essential workers who have been reliant on families or summer camps, we will not know the demand from them until services are open.