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

Each year a number of early learning and school-age childcare services close for a variety of reasons. Services intending to close must notify Tusla, the childcare regulator, of that fact. The most recent available data for the year to date show that 123 services, as the Deputy noted, have notified that they will not be reopening. A total of 39 new services have also notified Tusla that they will be opening this year. The number of services closing this year to date is slightly lower than the same number last year. In total, 200 services shut last year whereas in 2017 and 2018 about 150 shut in each year.

On supports, in the July stimulus package announced on 25 July, I provided a very substantial stimulus package for the childcare sector. It included the resumption of all my Department's childcare schemes and access to the employee wage subsidy scheme. We estimate that at present, the employee wage subsidy scheme funds about 38% of childcare providers' costs on average. That is obviously a highly significant direct State support. In June, my Department previously announced both a capital and a reopening support grant and about 3,800 services signed up for these. In total, 94% of services which normally open over the summer resumed their service. This illustrates the success of the measures the Government took to support the childcare sector. I want to commend the sector on the hard work of both the providers and the childcare professionals and the real commitment they demonstrated, particularly to the children in their care, in undertaking that very major reopening. I am conscious that some services may struggle to remain viable in the coming months. Consequently, I have ensured that €2 million is available in a Covid stability fund and I believe the Deputy may have a question for me about that later on as well.

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