Written answers

Tuesday, 15 June 2021

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Covid-19 Pandemic

Photo of Neale RichmondNeale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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948. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his attention has been drawn to childcare providers that are unable to provide full hours service due to the pod system; if the pod system will be maintained when workers return to the office and the demand for childcare increases; when he expects the pod system to be phased out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30975/21]

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Expert guidance on the safe operation of Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services during the COVID-19 pandemic was published by the HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) in May 2020 and has been updated on a number of occasions since then.

The guidance recommends use of the “play pod” model where children and their adult care givers play and learn together in a closed group. This model is used as an alternative to social distancing, which is not possible between young children. The purpose of ‘play-pods’ is to limit the number of people a child has contact with, to facilitate tracing, and to support close, positive interactions between children and their adult caregivers, like in a key-worker system. This system will also reduce the amount of contact adults have with each other.

My Department has ongoing engagement with the HSE and Department of Health in relation to the arrangements in place for ELC and SAC services operating during the pandemic. The advice from the public health experts is that as long as social distancing measures are in place, play-pods will be required in services.

It is the Department's view that most services should be able to comply with the HPSC guidance with little or no reduction in capacity or hours offered.

It must be noted that this Department is not the owner/employer of services; they are private businesses and specific decisions on whether, when and how to open (including operational hours) are a matter for the individual service provider. Services must examine, in the context of their own settings, how best to apply the guidance and how best to structure play-pods.

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