Minister for Children & Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, this week chaired the fourth meeting of the Advisory Group on the planned reopening of Early Learning and Care (ELC) / School Age Childcare (SAC) services. The Group was established to implement the Government’s Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, which sees creches, childminders and preschools opening in phase 3 (29 June). The Advisory Group includes representatives chosen by the sector, specifically the Association of Childhood Professionals, the National Community Forum, Early Childhood Ireland, the National Childhood Network, PLÉ and Seas Suas. The group also includes Tusla, Pobal, SIPTU and Childminding Ireland. Collectively members represent tens of thousands of providers and staff.
The Minister has also established a Reference Group, to supplement the work of the Advisory Group on phased service reopening, and to give an opportunity for input to provider representatives who are not on this group. The Minister will chair the first meeting of the Reference Group tomorrow, 28 May.
At its fourth meeting, the Advisory Group discussed options for reopening in accordance with the Government roadmap on 29 June. The Minister also provided updates to the Group on several key developments:
• Insurance: Allianz, the main insurance underwriter for the childcare sector, has agreed that there will be no Covid-19 exclusion on insurance policies for childcare providers which reopen from 29 June, under the Government Roadmap. All covers will be in place as per their existing policies, provided they follow the guidelines and back to work protocols issued by the relevant authorities. Arachas, the broker for the childcare providers’ group insurance scheme, have advised the Department of Children & Youth Affairs that, from the insurance point of view, there should be no barrier to the re-opening of Childcare services on the 29th of June.
• Payments: The Programme Support Payment (PSP) for the 2019/20 Programme year will issue in June. This payment totals €13m (an additional €6m was already issued in April) and acknowledges the administrative workload on providers delivering DCYA subsidies to almost 200,000 children every year. Pobal will contact all providers shortly to let them know when the applications will open.
• Capital Programme 2020: The Capital Programme for 2020 was suspended in March, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Minister now plans to launch this €7.2m fund in June, to provide capital funding to childcare providers which are planning to reopen. Funds will be made available to providers in advance, to assist them to carry out minor preparatory works on their premises or to make any essential purchases. Further information will issue in early June.
Speaking following the meeting, the Minister said:
I want to reassure providers, practitioners, parents and children that my Department is continuing to work intensively to support the sector to work towards as smooth a reopening as possible. The health, wellbeing and safety of children, families and the early education and childcare sector is my top priority. Childcare is a vital part of implementing the Government’s Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business. While the COVID-19 emergency called for overnight action on closures, the phased re-opening enables some time and planning to ensure re-opening in an orderly, safe and sustainable manner. Extensive consultation with the sector is a key part of delivering this, and I want to thank each member of the Advisory Group for their hard work and engagement.