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

I will start with the last question. Much of this is about planning for the future. I will address that a little. Many have asked a variation on Deputy Higgins's question. Needless to say, like other Departments, we have begun planning for the phased reopening of services. As the Deputy knows, when the pandemic hit we immediately started the wage subsidy scheme. We have it planned and are implementing it, and we have been planning for childcare for healthcare workers. That was the next thing we did. That scheme is about to open. That is the first part of the phased reopening, as I said. The next phase of reopening concerns going back to centre-based childcare, especially for essential workers.

Deputies Higgins and Rabbitte asked whether it was 29 June or July, what the dates are for the phasing, and the plans for all that. One of the most important things to say is that the services will not open at full capacity - I think the Deputies are aware of that - due to the ongoing public health restrictions. That will impact not only access to the services, but also their sustainability, the cost to parents and the cost to the State. One of the reasons for the cost of childcare services is that it is heavily shaped by the adult-child ratios. As I have said at other times, 70% of the costs are associated with pay. Part of our planning is looking at what the initial adult-child ratios will have to be. We must be in conversation with NPHET and the Department of Health in that regard.

As for the early years forum consultation, on which many people joined me yesterday evening, we have begun that planning with the sector. We have invited members of the sector to meet us again in a couple of weeks. We will put together a small group of the representative bodies of the sector to help us plan many of those things. I will have to address some of that as we move along. Deputy Rabbitte asked earlier about the statement in the phased reopening map that we will start with one day a week. That was just to give people an example of what it might look like. It does not mean those decisions have been made, to be clear.

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