Around a thousand creches resume later this morning as the reopening of the childcare sector begins.
100-thousand children enrolled in the free preschool scheme are eligible to go back under the first phase of the plan.
But it's not clear whether all will, with only around a quarter of early years businesses expected to reopen.
Theresa Heeney, Chief Executive of Early Childhood Ireland, says parents cannot wait around when dropping children off this morning.
