Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will share my time with Deputy Higgins who will join us in a moment. Having worked with the Minister on various committees over the past nine years, I wish her the very best wherever the next chapter of life takes her once her Ministry ends.

I have eight questions which I sent the Minister in advance and I would appreciate if she could answer them on the record. She answered my question on the number of childcare providers that have engaged with the wage subsidy scheme. The figure she provided was 3,733. How many employees will benefit as a consequence?

On the sector's ability to rebound after the Covid restrictions have been entirely lifted, how many facilities will resume activity and at what capacity will they do so? The Minister said she had been notified by seven providers that they plan to close. I expect that number will rise. Has she done any work on that?

During the Minister's engagement with key personnel in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Tusla and Members of the Oireachtas, I raised, on behalf of one of my Green Party colleagues, the issue of insurance coverage and rebates to providers for the period of closure.

Does the Minister have any analysis or results in respect of the work she was undertaking? What ongoing supports, outside of those being implemented during this period, does she envisage will be required in the coming months? I appreciate that this is a somewhat open-ended question but the Minister might endeavour to answer it. Should there be a second wave of the virus in the winter, as Deputy Carty mentioned, what expectation is there that childcare providers will be given personal protective equipment? Are there plans afoot within the Department to cater for that scenario? What additional supports does the Minister envisage for the access and inclusion model for children with additional needs? Deputy Rabbitte rightly raised the issue of the clawback by Pobal, the impact that might have on certain providers and whether the Department will step in.

From time to time, capital grants have been made available to the industry. I appreciate that we will most likely be entering a difficult financial scenario as a result of this pandemic. I am keen for certainty to be provided to operators throughout the State that may be planning ahead. Of course these plans often take months, if not years, to come to fruition. Therefore, some comment on the record would be appreciated. What steps are the Department taking to plan for and provide additional supports for the development of career pathways for childcare workers? This has featured in a framework document between those of us in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

Finally, is education in Oberstown continuing? Was it closed down? I am afraid I did not catch the answer to that question during our recent conference.

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