Dear Colleagues,
These are the deadlines, important dates, and announcements for the week 28 February -04 March
DEADLINES/IMPORTANT DATES
Friday 11th March
- Extended deadline for Finance and Impact Returns (FIRs)
Monday 14th March
- Applications for Linc inclusion coordinators will open. Go to https://lincprogramme.ie/
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
*URGENT*Tusla Re-Registration*URGENT*
If you received a letter via email from Tusla this week in relation to your re-registration, please do not ignore it. Immediate action is required by Tuesday 8 March. This only applies IF you received correspondence this week from Tusla regarding your re-registration. If you require assistance, please contact your Development Worker at Cork County Childcare Committee.
Extended Deadline for Finance and Impact Returns (FIRs)
The deadline for submission of FIRs has been extended to 5pm on Friday the 11th of March at Pobal Online. The DCEDIY emphasise the importance for all community services to complete and submit FIRs to Pobal. If you require any assistance in completing the return please complete a service request on the HIVE, selecting the FIRs as the category and sub-category of the request.
Public Holiday Changes to Service Calendars
This year an extra once-off public holiday will take place on Friday, 18 March. The new public holiday has now been applied to both NCS and ECCE service calendars on the Early Years Hive. Please see the instructions below on updating service calendars. See attached guide with screenshots.
ECCE
Services that have 18 March marked as OPEN on their 2021 ECCE service calendar
Go to My Account > Service Calendar on the Early Years Hive. Expand the yellow dropdown arrow on ECCE 2021 calendar. Select ‘Save As Draft’. This will create a second, draft version of your ECCE 2021 calendar. Expand the yellow dropdown arrow on the new draft ECCE 2021 calendar and select Edit. The public holiday will be automatically applied to your calendar. Select the Submit button at the bottom of the page. This will now replace your previous calendar as the active ECCE 2021 service calendar. The ECCE calendar will automatically be reduced from 183 to 182 days and the 38-week/41-week rule remains unchanged.
Services that have 18 March marked as CLOSED on their 2021 ECCE service calendar
Go to My Account > Service Calendar on the Early Years Hive. Expand the yellow dropdown arrow on ECCE 2021 calendar. Select ‘Save As Draft’. This will create a second, draft version of your ECCE 2021 calendar. Expand the yellow dropdown arrow on the new draft ECCE 2021 calendar. The public holiday will be automatically applied to your calendar. Select an additional closure day on the calendar in lieu of 18 March. Select the Submit button at the bottom of the page. This will now replace your previous calendar as the active ECCE 2021 service calendar.
NCS
The additional public holiday will be automatically added to your NCS calendar on the early Years Hive. There is no action required from service providers for NCS. If you had previously added a closure for this date on your calendar, this will now be removed and any marked as subsidised will be re-counted in 10 allowable subsidised closures days.
CCSP
The additional public holiday is currently in progress and will be communicated again when complete.
NCS Bank Holiday Payments
Due to the two public holidays on 17 and 18 March service providers will receive their weekly NCS payments on Monday, 21 March 2022. Please submit NCS returns as normal by Tuesday night.
Changes to Public Health advice
Changes to Public Health advice came into effect on 28 February. HPSC guidance – National Interim Guidance for Public Health Management of COVID-19 cases and close contacts can be found here: Public Health advice for the management of cases and contacts of COVID-19.pdf (hpsc.ie)
NCS Awards Issue
Pobal have indicated that a number of families have received an incorrect award on income-assessed subsidies under NCS due to an issue with Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) information provided directly from Revenue in 2020 and early 2021. Over the coming weeks, Pobal will follow up directly with families impacted by this issue. Services do not need to make any amendments. There is no requirement to recalculate co-payment on awards. NCS payments will continue to flow without interruption and service providers will not be requested to recoup or offset monies. Should any of the families in your service need additional assistance, please direct parents and guardians to the NCS Parents Support Centre in Pobal, which is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm: 01 9068530. Please see Service Provider FAQ’s attached to this bulletin.
Covid case advice
The HSE dedicated number for ELC/SAC services who have confirmed Covid-19 cases is 01 511 9777.
