Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone has said her department will top up the wages of staff to the maximum payment allowed in the wage subsidy scheme, which is €586 weekly.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Minister Zappone outlined details of the new contract the State is offering to childcare providers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said that where a staff member was earning a weekly wage below the rate set by the Department of Social Protection of €350 a week, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will top up, on a temporary basis, to that amount, to encourage employees to remain attached to their employers.
In addition, the minister said her department will offer a payment to childcare providers, which will be the equivalent to 15% of their gross staff weekly pay of a minimum payment of €300 per week.
Minister Zappone said that it will be a critical for the new government to ensure that "at the least, post-Covid, that there is a way to maintain the provision of a wage that is fair".
"I have always argued that we should be paying the living wage within the childcare sector," she added.
"Up until now that has not been able to be the case, but maybe now in terms of the way that it is operating that is the case and I would hope attention would be paid to that, in addition to the key issue of ensuring affordability for parents."
In relation to the childcare of frontline workers, Minister Zappone said she hopes that a decision "will be made soon" on how to support them in their childcare needs.
She said: "The mental health of our healthcare workers and the stress that they are under needs to be taken into account when those decisions are being made."
The minister cited an example of two parents who are both healthcare workers, and said: "As one goes to work they have to bring the kids with them to drop them to the other, so that they can bring the children back."
However, the President of the Association of Childhood professionals has warned that a number of providers could struggle to remain viable and re-open once the coronavirus crisis ends.
Marian Quinn called on Minister Zappone to seriously examine the option of a bailout sustainability fund for the sector, in order to help those services struggling or unable to meet their overheads.
She said the money that is currently being given to the sector was already ring fenced for crèches to provide services for the sector.
Ms Quinn warned that even if some services can "limp along" until they can re-open, they will have to cover increased costs and the only way to do that will be to increase fees for parents; but added this will not be an option in an environment where parents have lost work and suffered wage cuts.
"A sustainability fund will be needed and I think the minister needs to look at that sooner rather than later," she said.
