Brendan Kenneally
Question:11 Mr. Kenneally asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform the efforts, if any, which are made in this country towards the collecting and assessing of data on child-minding facilities. [12261/95]
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Child Minding Facilities.
As child care services are not subject to statutory control there are no official procedures for the collection and assessment of data on them. Primary responsibility for the regulation of child care resides with my colleague, the Minister for Health, under the Child Care Act, 1991. Part VII of that Act provides for a new system of supervision and inspection by health boards of pre-school services catering for children under six years of age. I understand from my colleague, the Minister for Health, that this part of the Act will be implemented in 1996, at which time providers of all pre-school services will be obliged to register with their local health board and to comply with statutory regulations relating to standards.
I am a little surprised we do not seem to be making progress in this area. The EU network was set up in 1986 for the purpose of collecting data and to make people more aware of responsibility in the child care area. Have we access to EU figures in this regard and, if so, what use is being made of them? What practical efforts are being made to implement the findings in this area?
There is no official data on child minding facilities because up to now no Government has seen fit to bring in official registration procedures. Such procedures are to be brought in under the Child Care Act, 1991, but the part of the Act dealing with that matter will not be implemented until next year. When that is done all facilities will be obliged to register and comply with certain standards. Data may then be collected and assessed. Obviously until registration takes place data will not be available. Further questions on this matter may be addressed to the Minister for Health who is responsible for implementing the Child Care Act.
Are sufficient funds, which are available through the European Union, being drawn down in this area? I am thinking particularly of vocational training for child care workers and monitoring in this area, which is one of the objectives of the EU NOW Programme. Some organisations in the child care area have drawn down funding under that programme. If the matter is not monitored on a proper basis perhaps we are not drawing down funds that may be available to us and which would be of assistance in furthering this element of society.
Some of the facilities under the EU human resources programme come under the ambit of FÁS and the Department of Enterprise and Employment, while others come under the ambit of the Department of Education. These offices may have data regarding facilities that are funded through the EU programme. If the Deputy puts down a question on those programmes he may get further information. There is no control or registration in place for such services. However, registration procedures and controls will be put in place next year and all the necessary data will then be readily obtainable. It is important that registration procedures are introduced as quickly a possible and my colleague, the Minister for Health, intends to do that in 1996.
Has the Minister plans to conduct a campaign to make people aware of the importance of child care? If we are to make opportunities available in the labour market, particularly for women, we must develop these services. Is this being communicated to employers? We must ensure that a proper range of child care facilities is provided, particularly in larger firms, because a happy worker is a more productive worker and it is vital that the importance of providing such facilities is communicated to employers through the country. Does the Minister have any plans to do that?
I agree with Deputy Kenneally. He talked about a happy worker being a productive worker but I want to make opportunities available for people who could not be in the workforce without the provision of child care facilities. That is an important aspect of the matter. In so far as the ambit of my Department is concerned, not alone have I been advocating that position but, since I took office, I have done something about it. I secured from the Department of Finance approximately £1 million for last year and this year to grant-aid setting up créches and training people as child minders. As a result — and I am speaking now from recollection — some 70 facilities at various locations in disadvantaged areas have been grant-aided with that sum of £1 million through my Department and ADM, which operates the scheme on my behalf. That was a new scheme introduced by me and it is having practical effects on the ground. Child care places have become available that otherwise would not have existed. This money is quite apart from the EU draw down to which Deputy Kenneally refers. We are all agreed on the need for this scheme, which covers various aspects, but the question of the broad generality of registration is an important matter. We will have an overall hands-on approach to the whole situation when registration becomes compulsory and standards are set by the Department of Health. We can then reassess the position and see what further improvements may be necessary.
The Minister referred to the pilot child care scheme administered by ADM. Towards the latter end of last year, ADM invited applications for grant aid. Subsequently, funding was made available through the Minister's Department, which was very welcome, but that was under a child care initiative project. Is that project and the child care scheme one and the same? It seems that the body administering the scheme sought applications for grant aid but the money emanated from the Minister's Department.
The money emanated from my Department. If the Deputy looks at the Estimates for my Department he will see the £1 million referred to there. The modus operandi was that we asked ADM to administer the scheme on behalf of the Department of Equality and Law Reform for the simple reason that it had the control measures and the local bases around the country necessary for the implementation of the scheme. ADM agreed to do that and, subsequently, there were a large number of applications. Approximately 70 organisations were approved as meeting the requirements laid down by my Department and ADM. I believe approximately £900,000 has already been committed in grant aid for the 70 organisations around the country. I cannot say offhand if there are one or more such projects in the Deputy's constituency——
There are two.
——but I am sure there are.
As the Minister rightly said, he succeeded in acquiring £1 million for child care facilities in the past year and he referred to the requirements met by the various bodies that applied to his Department. Were those requirements in relation to standards within a particular child care unit? Does this link to any future proposals on foot of regulation of child care? Have we a basis at this stage for standards within the child care sector?
One of the requirements was that the location of the facility in question had to be in a disadvantaged area. In addition, ADM devised a form of application which required information regarding the nature of the facility provided, the length of time it was in existence, the number of children that would be cared for and the general standards that applied. I believe ADM has carried out inspections of the facilities to ensure that the standards, which it devised for this purpose as there are not yet official standards in force, were adhered to. That was done on an ad hoc basis by ADM but it was necessary because this was a new scheme. The funding was voted for the first time last year and, consequently, ADM devised its necessary basis and it has people employed who understand these matters. I gather the scheme is working very well and that, with the aid of this money, these 70 facilities around the country have been enabled, in some cases, to set up a new facility or extend or improve an existing one to enable them take in additional children. That has opened up possibilities for many mothers both for employment and for educational opportunities. I believe it has been a very worthwhile project.
The Minister made a valid point. These facilities have been very useful. As there seems to be some method of assessment in place, will the Minister, after a period of time, publish some terms of assessment that might be used in the interim before the new registration of child care facilities come into being? One of the major difficulties in relation to child care is that while we have many excellent facilities, others are not fit to accommodate them. The Minister's programme has been succesful but we must have some facility for assessment on which we can build in the future.
The only point I would make about that is that the responsibility for setting standards, dealing with the registration and so on, under the terms of the Child Care Act, 1991, falls to my colleague, the Minister for Health. However, I am sure the expertise gained by ADM in the operation of this scheme from my Department may be helpful to the Department of Health and, of course, all that expertise will be made readily available to the Department of Health if required.