Ms Teresa Heeney:

I will start with Deputy Costello's second question. The committee that is now in place - the advisory group on reopening - works well. It is an example which shows that when people sit around a table and collaborate and consult, and are then allowed to go back to their base, their members, their colleagues or their staff, they can work together and design something that is workable. The members of Early Childhood Ireland to whom I have been speaking were mostly relieved with the package, which gave them some certainty for the next eight weeks. I would welcome the opportunity for us to sit down again and table issues for discussion at the ongoing meetings of the advisory group on reopening, which, as I said, has met weekly.

On the Deputy’s first question on the 15% of services that did not sign up to the scheme, we do not know the answer to that. I understand the Department will use some of its structures, such as the county and city childcare committees, to establish why those 15% of services did not participate in the scheme, which I agree is a big issue, but at this stage we do not understand it. There is probably a myriad of reasons and perhaps some of my colleagues can shed some light on it.