Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. First, I commend the early learning and childcare sector on the fact that 94% of services that normally open during the summer, did so again this year. This is despite the very many challenges Covid-19 created.

Our preliminary information is that the level of term-time services reopening over the past two weeks is also extremely high. This involved a major commitment by providers and childcare professionals to children and their families. I applaud their work in that context.

It is important to note that testing and contact tracing are matters primarily for the Department of Health and the HSE. The HSE has advised that turnaround time on testing and tracing is well in line with international practice.

I fully recognise that the timeliness of testing and tracing is important for our childcare services, where specific adult-child ratios are mandated by the regulations. With this in mind, I have raised the issue of prioritised testing for the childcare sector directly with the acting Chief Medical Officer. My officials have also raised it with the HSE. The HSE advises that it is difficult to prioritise any particular group and its aim instead is to speed up testing for all sectors and citizens.

My Department will continue to keep this matter under review and will continue to liaise with the Department of Health and the HSE as required. My Department is also liaising with officials in the Department of Education and Skills to ensure approaches in both sectors are aligned.

We have some reports from the sector of recruitment difficulties but we have no clear indications of widespread staff shortages due to testing delays. Both myself and my officials will continue to engage regularly with representatives of the sector to ensure that we have up-to-date information and we are looking at any evidence of any difficulties that might be experienced by the sector.

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