Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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151. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the administrative burden that managers of early years childcare services are under; his views on the concerns that many centres in County Tipperary have for their futures due to the costs being faced for PPE and adherence to social distancing; his further views on the adequacy of the funding allocated to them to restart their businesses; his views on the level of additional funding that should be provided to the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16414/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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On 10 June 2020, my Department announced a major funding package to facilitate the reopening of early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services. In accordance with the Government Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, and guided by the expert advice of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC), ELC and SAC services started to resume from 29 June. I am pleased that Government have committed a €75m package of funding for reopening services over the summer months. A further package is being examined to cover the period from 24 August onwards. This substantial investment recognises the important role that the ELC and SAC sector plays in the societal and economic infrastructure of the country.

The new €75m funding package contains four significant elements:

- A once-off Reopening Support Payment (RSP) for DCYA-funded providers opening between 29 June and early September.

- A once-off COVID-19 capital grant for DCYA-funded providers opening between 29 June and early September.

- Continued access for eligible providers to the Revenue-operated Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS)

- Resumption of DCYA ELC and SAC programmes.

In developing the above funding package, the Department recognised that a reduced number of children were likely to attend ELC and SAC services in the initial weeks of reopening. This funding package was tailored to allow providers to operate with less parental income and to assist in meeting the costs associated with complying with public health requirements. The latter additional costs have been kept minimal as public health guidance has stated that previous adult child ratios in the childcare sector were appropriate to meet public health needs (one adult to 3,5,6,8,11 or 12 children maximum) and the new Play-pod model merely allows two of those groups to come together ( or a variation of this) to help reduce the amount of relief cover necessary.

The funding package also ensures that ELC and SAC providers will not charge higher fees than they did pre-COVID-19. This will benefit parents and children returning to services.

A key policy priority for the Department is the sustainability of the ELC and SAC sector and we continue to work intensively to support services to reopen and remain sustainable. The reopening funding package aims to support providers to reopen, staff to remain in the sector, parents to resume work, and children to benefit from quality ELC and SAC.

The funding package described above was for the initial phase of reopening (from 29 June - 23 August). As stated earlier, my Department is now working intensively on a funding package to support the sector further for the 2020/21 programme year - commencing 24 August.

The Department is working closely with eight representatives groups of the sector through the Advisory Group on Reopening to develop an effective and efficient support package, which will be communicated to the sector as early as possible. I met with 17 representatives of the sector on 15 July and was delighted to hear positive reports regarding the number of services that have already opened. Over 80%, so far, of services that normally open during the summer have already opened and more are expected to open next week and in early August. Additionally, the high take up rate for grants for services planning to open in late August indicates that the vast majority of services that normally open in late August / early September will do so. It is important to clarify that some reports in the media do not have a reliable evidence base.

In recognition of the additional time required by ELC and SAC providers to complete the administrative work associated with the various DCYA-funded schemes, my Department provides a Programme Support Payment (PSP). The initial budget in 2017 for PSP was €14.5m. This has since been increased and the total amount available to providers for the 2019/2020 programme cycle is €19.4m.

Regarding PPE and physical distancing in ELC and SAC settings, expert guidance on the safe reopening of services during the COVID-19 pandemic was published by the HPSC on 29 May. The guidance recommends, amongst other measures, the use of a “play pod” model to restrict interactions between closed groups of children and adults as an alternative to social distancing, on the basis that social distancing is not possible between young children.Public health advice does not require any change to minimum adult-child ratios or to regulatory space requirements. While some settings may reduce capacity depending on their layout, there are no required capacity reductions, and most services should be able to comply with the public health advice with no or little reduction in capacity.

HPSC advice is that additional PPE, over and above normal requirements for ELC and SAC services, is not required to be used by staff while they are caring for children.

In line with normal practice in these services, staff should wear disposable single-use plastic aprons, and non-powdered, non-permeable gloves when there is a risk of coming into contact with body fluids (such as when nappy changing). Supplies of these should be readily available in services.

The HPSC has advised that services should keep a small supply of surgical masks in a readily accessible place for use by a staff member who develops symptoms of COVID-19 or by staff members caring for a sick child if they feel they need to use them.

The Reopening Support Payment is available for services to not only meet the reopening guidelines, but to support children to remain in play pods and meet additional staffing needs during the reopening period. The Reopening Support Payment can be used to meet costs for hygiene supplies and consumables.

More information can be found on the Department's website: Reopening Funding Package for Childcare Services FAQ.

State investment to the sector has increased by 141% over the last five budgets. The Government is committed to implementing First 5: A Whole-of- Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, which commits to at least doubling investment in Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare in the decade to 2028.

The Programme for Government reaffirms the importance of reforming the ELC and SAC sector and this is a priority for me over the coming year.