Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Sinn Féin speakers will use 11 of our 15 allocated minutes and leave four minutes for the Minister to respond. I will share time with Deputies O'Rourke and Gould.

I do not wish to be repetitive. In her opening statement, the Minister addressed some of the issues I intended to raise, including guidelines, reopening and pods. The issue of consultation has been raised several times in the House. It is essential that childcare and early years settings are given adequate time to put the required measures in place. Unfortunately, it is often the case in the early years sector that a measure is announced and there is panic about getting it done in time. That was the case with the wage subsidy, where there was a delay of a few weeks after it was announced, and the cancellation of childcare for front-line workers. Places should not be told they can reopen on 29 June without being given the guidelines, time or training to put in place whatever needs to be done to open. The sector needs time to deal with whatever guidelines and measures need to be put in place.

I refer to sustainability. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, there is no point in discussing the early years sector or childcare if sustainability is not at the heart of that discussion. Without sustainability, there will be no services to open. Unfortunately, places are closing because they cannot afford to stay open. That will have a major impact on people returning to work, particularly women, because, as all Members know, childcare generally falls to them. It will also have a major impact on children. We should not forget that children are at the core of this issue. They have endured many u-turns in their lives in recent weeks. The vast majority of them are an excellent example of how one can deal and cope with change.

That leads me on to my next question. The Minister earlier touched on the issue of children with additional needs and those in the vulnerable or at-risk categories. As Members are aware, all children benefit from early years education. Some people think the children benefit as a result of the work that they do there but, rather it is a combination of their work, social interaction and everything else they learn in the facility. Children with additional needs who are going through a difficult time trying to cope with the current situation, as are their parents and wider families, should be given priority. Will that be done? Similarly, children who have been referred to Tusla or are in a vulnerable category should be prioritised for a return to childcare. It is often their safe place and where they get their food and stability. It is important that we prioritise such children for return rather than focussing on the children of parents who are returning to work. Obviously, it is important that people be able to return to work but we must remember that children are at the heart of this issue.

The Minister touched on the issue of insurance. There seems to be a question mark over whether facilities will be covered. Has there been any update in that regard? We do not want a situation whereby providers think they will open on a particular date but the issue insurance suddenly arises as a problem and no providers reopen. Services should not be at a financial loss. If they can only take ten children instead of the 20 they previously catered for, they should be allocated funding for 20 children such that the business is sustainable.

I refer to Tusla, foster care, birth parents and access.

In the vast majority of situations, access has been suspended and the use of WhatsApp and Skype video calls and other forms of access have been encouraged. Is there any time frame for resuming access? Are there guidelines available for both foster and birth parents? This has been extremely difficult for children and for many birth parents who have not had the opportunity to physically see their children over the last number of weeks. Is there a time frame and plan for that?

My last point relates to maternity leave. There was some discussion earlier with the Minister for Finance about whether it would be possible to include women returning to work after maternity leave in the wage subsidy scheme. Is there any update on that, particularly with regard to childcare workers and early years workers? Is the Department of Children and Youth Affairs doing anything on that? Again we have a situation where it is women who are being left out.

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