Sinn Féin Children and Youth Affairs spokesperson Kathleen Funchion TD has raised concerns about the new measures announced by the Minister for Children will impact smaller childcare providers.

She has called for a sustainability fund to be established to help smaller childcare providers who are struggling in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy Funchion said:

“The new measures announced yesterday are welcome for parents; particularly those who have lost jobs in the past two weeks, and are welcome for some childcare providers who will be able to cover a large proportion of their costs based on the government’s plans.

“Unfortunately, however, the planned contribution of 15% of staff costs is not going to be enough for many services, particularly smaller and rural based services.

“I have asked the Minister to put in place a sustainability fund to address this issue immediately.

“In order to ensure that this fund benefits smaller providers who are going to be most affected, this could be applied on case-by-case basis or by increasing the 15% on a staged basis depending on costs of the facility.

“This is vital to ensure that all childcare providers continue as going concerns in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.”