Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

11 o’clock

On the Deputy's first question, it is important to note that the early years sector is different from the primary and secondary school sector in that the services are privately run or operated by community or not-for-profit services and, therefore, my Department is not the employer, as the Deputy is aware. However, as I outlined in my response, we provide a range of supports through capitation payments and other initiatives and schemes to specifically support the sector. There are no current plans to follow a similar path to that of the Department of Education and Skills in that regard. The early years sector is different in nature and construct from the school system. I am aware of the challenges that entails but many registered services are small or one-person operations and their closure with a consequent lack of child care on the days concerned would have significant downstream effects for children, parents and the wider economy. My Department is not the employer. It respects the rights of private or not-for-profit businesses to make their own decisions regarding service closure and to meet training requirements and, rather, is concentrated on a range of other supports, as outlined in my reply.

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