Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said paid leave will be provided for partners of healthcare workers who work in the public sector to allow them to provide childcare at home.
He said that the measure has been approved by National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
However, he acknowledged that this would only work for public sector households. He said it was not an answer for a couple where both are healthcare workers or in a situation where one works in the private sector and the other works in the public sector.
The Taoiseach said NPHET still has reservations about childminders going into people's homes and are not happy for it to be done now.