Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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601. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if childcare providers that are drawing down Covid-19 supports are permitted to increase fees to parents from September 2020 onwards for crèches that experience a fall in the number of children returning on 29 June 2020; the supports available if they cannot afford to cover costs and are already drawing down funding from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14460/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Early learning and care and school age childcare services are all private enterprises with 25% of them operating on a not for profit basis. The majority of services are contracted with my Department to provide schemes which subsidise the cost of the service to eligible parents, or in the case of the universal pre-school programme, ECCE, to provide these 15 hours per week at no cost to the parent. Providers are generally free to set their own policies regarding the charging of fees for services other than ECCE.

Two recent exception to the general freedom of services to set their own fees policies were:

- the requirement that services in receipt of the Temporary Wage Subsidy for Childcare Scheme (over April, May and June) could not charge any fees to parents, and

- the requirement that services which are reopening over the summer, and are in receipt of a Reopening Support Payment, cannot increase their fees above the level which was charged in March 2020, before the Covid closures.

Now that a majority of childcare services that normally open over the summer have reopened, my Department, together with representatives of the sector, is currently reviewing proposals for the full reopening of the sector in late August / early September. This review includes consideration of potential State supports for the sector to assist it to retain capacity in the short term as the economy recovers and more people return to work and require childcare. Just as my Department has done since creches were closed on March 12, we are committed to providing any essential financial support to ensure that businesses remain sustainable. We hope to finalise our assessment of essential need and to develop a proposal for Government approval within the coming weeks. It is our intention that this proposed funding will cover any additional costs arising from COVID and prevent services having to pass on any increased costs to parents.

Separately, any service provider in financial difficulty can request State support and advice through a Case Management process which my Department delivers through the local County Childcare Committees (CCC’s) and Pobal. This can include help with completing and interpreting analysis of staff ratios, fee setting and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances. Financial supports are available for community services which are facing sustainability issues. Providers in need of support should contact their local CCC in the first instance.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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602. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some childcare providers are asking parents to sign a contract for a childcare service which includes the clause that parents must pay during mandated closures as directed by the HSE or another agency; if childcare providers are entitled to insert this clause if drawing down Covid-19 payments recently announced by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14461/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department does not provide early learning and care services. Childcare services are provided by private enterprises, either privately owned or operated by community organisations. Services are contracted by my Department to provide services at a subsidised rate to parents. Providers are free to set their own policies regarding the charging of fees.The current contracts between the Department and providers do not deal with the issue of services charging fees during periods when the services are closed.

With regard to the charging of fees during the March-June Covid related closure period, services which signed up to my Department's Temporary Wage Subsidy for Childcare Scheme (TWSCS), were not permitted to charge any fees during the closure period.

I would encourage parents who are experiencing difficulties with any aspect of service provision to contact their local City or County Childcare Committee (CCC) for assistance. Contact details for all of the CCCs are available at www.myccc.ie.