That is the sting in the tail but it is the context in which we know we are all operating. It is to ensure that we have those solid protections for childcare professionals who, as we have seen over the summer, have gone above and beyond to get childcare reopened during that period.

I greatly appreciate the anxiety of parents who seek an overage exemption from the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme for their child. Overage exemptions for ECCE are provided by my Department and are governed by three guiding principles: first, a specialist has recommended the additional time in ECCE; second, the child will not reach six years of age before beginning primary education, in line with the Education (Welfare) Act 2000; and, third, if a child has already availed of the full two years o…

I thank the Deputy. On the origin of the exemption, when the ECCE programme was just a one-year programme there were certain children who, because of their particular needs, would not have been able to avail of the full five days so they ended up taking three. We allowed them to take it then over two years. I believe that is the origin of the two-year rule in that particular situation but I will double-check that and revert to the Deputy on that specific point. It is worth noting, from my Department looking into th…

The Deputy is always welcome to send on representations. I will try to process them as quickly as possible. I know from examining representations I have received from various Deputies that we give a significant number of exemptions. Even in the short time I have been in my role, I have given a significant number of them. I am sorry if the Deputy's name has not been on those representations. We are about to undertake a fairly significant review of AIM in general and its application because it is a new programme. The…

I thank the Deputy. I am sure he will recall the general scheme of a Bill to give effect to a phased forensic standard excavation at the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam. It lapsed earlier this year prior to formal pre-legislative scrutiny. It is my intention to seek Cabinet approval to reintroduce this legislation. Following that approval, I will be seeking for the relevant Oireachtas joint committee, on its appointment, to prioritise early scrutiny of the proposed legislation so its recommendations…

I thank the Deputy for that. A significant number of people live in very close proximity to the site. I have not yet visited it. I will be visiting it. I hope to do so soon. I understand there are houses and gardens backing directly onto the site. I can only imagine how the attention, controversy and genuine sadness associated with the site have affected them. I am open to the Deputy's suggestions on how best to engage with residents in Tuam. A pre-legislative process gives us more time to consider how the legislat…

I spoke to the former Minister, Dr. Zappone, a couple of weeks after taking on my role and we talked through some of the key challenges facing me as the new Minister. Dr. Zappone spoke specifically about her visits. I believe she made a number of visits to Tuam. She spoke about the impact on her and advised me to visit. I have also spoken to Catherine Corless and her family. She, too, extended the invitation. I certainly plan to visit. It is a priority for me to proceed with the legislation, subject to Cabinet appr…

I thank the Deputy. I am acutely aware of the importance of the commission of investigation and of how much the report is anticipated by the former residents and their families. The commission's final report is due to be submitted to me by 30 October 2020. It is important to understand that when the commission submits its final report to me, I will have to address a number of procedural matters before I can seek the approval of the Government to publish it. This will necessitate engagement with the Attorney General…

I fully agree with the Deputy. In fairness to the commission of investigation, we are all aware that a chunk of our lives was missed this year and that has caused difficulties and delays for everyone in every context. I do not want to make comparisons because I do not want to minimise the issue we are discussing. However, everyone's lives were delayed and that is the context here. I met two members of the commission of investigation around a month ago and we had a useful discussion. I asked them if they were absolu…

The Deputy makes a fair point. My Department has a network of people it communicates with on all issues to do with the mother and baby homes commission of investigation, and we will use that network. However, the Deputy is correct that we will need a clear communications approach as regards the publication of this report. I remember when the Saville inquiry in London published its final decision on Bloody Sunday that the relatives were all present and were given copies of the report. I remember them waving them out…

The Tusla Education Support Service, TESS, operates under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000. It emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. TESS has three key strands, namely, the statutory educational welfare service, the home school community liaison scheme and the school completion programme. I recognise that returning to school is challenging for students. As schools reopen, TESS will continue to engage with families to provide advice, support and encouragement to students. TESS w…

The Deputy raised a number of points, one of which is related to the number of social workers in Tusla. We have questions coming up on that issue later when we will talk about increasing the number of social workers. Based on how the legislation is being implemented I believe the Tusla staff and those in TESS are very much focused on that element of support and encouraging parents. That is why in addition to Tusla we have the home-school community liaison officer who is based in the school. I am sure the Deputy has…

The Deputy's point on technology is important. Tusla has been recognised across Europe as being one of the social worker agencies that was quickest to move to work online during the Covid pandemic. I wish to recognise the work Tusla has done there. The Deputy may not be aware that TESS is moving out of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and moving over to the Department of Education and Skills. I think the Deputy may regard that as a good thing. Two of the three partners in this regard are being amalgamat…

In the future this matter will be addressed by the Department of Education and Skills.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 53 together. I thank Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan for his question. There is a large demand for high-quality, accessible and affordable school-age childcare services. This demand is seen in all areas of the country, including in my constituency and I have no doubt in Cork city. To help meet this demand, the programme for Government commits to increasing the range of after-school services in schools and community hubs. My Department has provided support for the development of sch…

There is significant demand for school-age childcare services. I just did some calculations and I believe the vacancy rate in Cork city is about 4% which is obviously very tight. That is a clear indication of the need to provide more places. The Deputy spoke about the ad hoc development of these services, which is right to a degree. The previous Minister introduced the action plan to get a higher-level view of where these services were needed and to identify how we could take the available capital funding, which wi…

Where it is safe to do so, there is no reason for a school not to give permission for the use of their facilities for school-age childcare after school provided all public health guidelines are maintained. The availability of that childcare is really important. Over the summer we have been very successful in reopening childcare facilities and got to about 94% of what was normally open. With the reopening of schools, we are at the wider opening of childcare and ECCE services. I commit to keeping a close eye on this.…

I thank the Deputy for his kind words. I believe there is strong value in supporting the provision of services in the Irish language to children at an early age because, as the Deputy has said, they are able to pick up languages much more quickly at that age. Preschools and crèches can play a really important role in promoting Irish as a living language. I note that early learning and care services are private businesses and they determine the medium through which they provide their service. My Department provides …

My understanding is that the two points I listed from our overarching strategy for dealing with the early years sector, First 5, act on elements of the 20-year strategy. The overarching strategy for the Irish language is being enacted in our sector through these points in First 5. They are carrying on down. That is my understanding of the link. It is important to note that, acting on those commitments in First 5, we are working on the creation of two Irish language early years posts to further develop Irish languag…

I absolutely accept the Deputy's wider point on the learning of languages. I take on board his point regarding Irish language provision from the youngest ages. I am ten weeks in the job but I will endeavour to get a better sense of how these various elements interact because I accept its importance.