Vol. 481 No. 7
196 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of pre-school services provided directly by the health boards or partly funded by the health boards; the number of children for whom service is provided by these services; and the plans, if any, he has to develop this policy framework for these services in the coming years. [17197/97]
Health boards provide financial supports to certain pre-school services which cater for children who are regarded as being at-risk or disadvantaged. This function is in keeping with the boards overall responsibilities in regard to the promotion of the welfare of children and provision of family support services under the Child Care Act, 1991. This policy of supporting certain pre-school services will continue in the future.
While section 56 of the Child Care Act empowers health boards to provide pre-school services in their functional areas, this must be read in conjunction with section 3 of the Act which limits the responsibilities of boards to promoting the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. It is not intended therefore, that boards will provide services for the generality of children or to facilitate working parents. Policy in this wider area in order to promote equality for women and especially to promote equal opportunities in employment is currently being developed by an expert working group involving the relevant interests chaired by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The working group was established under Partnership 2000 and its remit is to devise a national framework for the development of the child care sector.
The statistical information requested by the Deputy is not readily available in my Department. My officials have requested the relevant information from the health boards and I will forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible.
