Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I have two questions for the Minister. Perhaps he can answer the first one and then come back to me. I want first to acknowledge the huge work done by those in the early years sector. They have operated selflessly over the course of the pandemic and despite all the challenges have really stepped up. I thank them for that work.

I know that when the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, was set up initially, a real effort was made by the Minister and the Department to ensure it worked for the early years sector and provided that continuity between the providers and staff. Unfortunately, I do not think this worked.

I am not sure if the Minister has seen the latest figures I received from the Department of Finance. On 21 December 2020, 1,992 childcare workers were on the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. That number has since risen to 4,175. Those latest figures were from 1 February so there has been a 110% increase in the number of childcare workers who are receiving the PUP. Therefore, a significant number of childcare providers are not availing of the EWSS scheme. The downside of that is those staff will lose part of their entitlements, such as holidays and PRSI. It also means, however, that there will be a disconnection and there will not be continuity between the provider and the staff. That continuity is important for the providers but also for the children who will want to see the same faces when they go back into crèche.

Is the Minister aware of that issue? Has he investigated it? Will he look at the EWSS and reform it to ensure he can fix whatever is not working with us and not working for providers and the staff themselves? We should not be left in a situation where we have many highly qualified staff who are now on the PUP and do not have that continuity back to their employer.

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