Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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888. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if crèches are allowed to charge parents for holding a place for their child if the facility is drawing down Covid-19 funding supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15917/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department strongly encourages service providers to support parents as best they can as they re-engage with early learning and care services.

Childcare services which are reopening over the summer, and are in receipt of a Reopening

Support Payment, are not permitted to increase their fees above the level which was charged in March 2020, before the Covid closures. Where a service has reopened, but parents have decided to delay returning their children to the service, the service may charge the parents a fee to hold a place for their child.

Services have been asked not to charge a holding fee or deposit unless it is essential for the financial sustainability of the service, and if a fee is charged, it should be as low as possible.