Enda Kenny
Question:70 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Health if he has any proposals to introduce public child care facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Public Child Care Facilities.
I presume the Deputy is referring to the provision of day care facilities for children. The responsibility of the health boards for the support of day care services for children relates primarily to those services which cater mainly for families under stress, for example, single parent families or families where parents are ill or unable to cope or children in other disadvantaged circumstances.
Approximately £1.5 million was allocated by the health boards to bodies providing day care services for pre-school children in 1991. This does not represent the total expenditure on day care services as a number of the health boards also made block grants to voluntary bodies to provide family resource services which include a day care element. It is not, however, possible to give separate figures for the day care element.
As outlined in theProgramme for Economic and Social Progress the provision of child care services for working parents, which affects the achievement of real equality in the labour market, will be pursued during the period of the programme. The development of such services, which is a shared responsibility, will continue to be encouraged by the Government which has set up a working group under the auspices of the Minister for Labour and incorporating representatives of ICTU and FIE to identify possible areas of development.