Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have correspondence from a childcare provider from the Arachas childcare insurance team, dated 7 May. That was the day on which the Government scheme was announced. The correspondence makes two things absolutely clear: that the insurers were in constant contact with the Government for some six weeks and that they set out very clearly that they would not cover Covid instances. They made that clear, and I am alarmed to hear that the Taoiseach did not know that this problem existed. He should have known, notwithstanding his busyness. The correspondence sets out that potential exposure to the Covid-19 virus - they say - represents a material change in circumstances, it heightens risks and they are not prepared to cover it.

I am sure the childcare sector and the more than 25,000 early education and childcare workers across the land are very alarmed at what happened for front-line workers. The Taoiseach will recall that last December, many childcare providers were put under huge pressure because their premiums had gone through the roof. They had ballooned to the extent that it threatened the existence of these services. Many questioned whether they would be able to open their doors again. Now there is a scenario where insurers say they are not prepared to cover Covid risk. Childcare providers have said very clearly that was the main reason why this scheme collapsed.

I have two questions. First, I have asked the Taoiseach step into the breach in this emergency situation and indemnify now those workers who are required to support and care for the children of our front-line workers, as otherwise, the front-line workers cannot go to work. I want the Taoiseach to ensure that people who put their lives and their safety on the line for the rest of us have the childcare that was promised to them. That means the State has to intervene where the insurance industry will not.

Second, what are the implications of the stance taken by the insurance industry for the childcare sector and workers and for parents more generally? Might we face a situation in June, heaven forbid, where the Taoiseach announces the reopening of childcare and crèche facilities but insurers either refuse to cover the risk or insist that the premiums of childcare providers balloon again? This must be about ensuring that every parent has the childcare cover he or she needs, that childcare workers have jobs to return to and, immediately, that the Government must act. The Taoiseach promised workers on the front line that they would have the support of childcare; he can act now to make sure that is the case.

Incidentally, it has happened in the North. In the North, because the Taoiseach likes to talk about the North occasionally, the Department of Health has conceded that insurers will not cover Covid risk so in these emergency circumstances, it now will cover those workers. The Government should do the same.

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