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

This is a phased reopening and we are in a pandemic. For both of those reasons, there will be a reduction in the number that are cared for in the centres, certainly initially. These are some of the real struggles and challenges right now in terms of how to prioritise, especially in terms of the initial reopening and, as we continue to grow, we will need to find ways to meet the demand. At present, we are not fully aware whether there will be the same demand as there was before the pandemic. This is why we have constructed and will be administering a survey of parents, on the one hand, and providers, on the other, to try to get some evidence to help us with those decisions.

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