Ms Rachel Grant:

I am HR manager with the Crann Support Group. As Ms Daly explained, we provide services to 11 community childcare organisations. We very much welcomed the opportunity to maintain that relationship with the employer and employee. That was all down to the negotiations that took place with Revenue and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, which came up with a package allowing us to maintain the net wages for staff. In doing that, the CPD took place. We laid down the roadmap. However, it was important that we did not lay that roadmap too narrowly because, as Ms Donohoe just explained, broadband issues, etc., can make it difficult.

We need to identify that childcare has gone through a revolution in the past ten to 15 years. Childcare professionals who did not have qualifications had to progress to get qualifications and also do CPD in their own time. This was an opportunity. This negative turned into a positive for all of the 323 employees in the Crann group. They could do courses of interest to them to allow them to progress with their career. As I explained to all our staff, that will not only benefit them when they return on 29 June, it is lifelong learning. It has been of great benefit to all staff and I commend everybody who took part.