Childcare providers who close their doors next week to participate in a day of protest calling for solutions to the childcare crisis will receive their State payment as usual, the Minister for Children has said. The Department of Children had previously issued a circular warning that those who took part in next Wednesday’s protest would lose funding for the day if services were shut. Following harsh criticism from the childcare sector, Minister for Children Katherine Zappone announced on Thursday that payments would be authorised as long as providers found an alternative date for parents to avail of childcare services. The departmental statement noted that the decision to reinstate payments came “having considered the concerns and circumstances of the childcare sector”, adding that the minister had, “always supported better pay for childcare professionals”. Hundreds of childcare facilities across the country will close on February 5th as workers, providers and parents take part in a protest in Dublin’s city centre.

Source: The Irish Times January 30, 2020 16:58 UTC