Vol. 515 No. 1
228 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he has satisfied himself that adequate child care facilities at an affordable price are available in third level colleges; and the plans, if any, he has to remedy shortcomings in this area. [5554/00]
The higher education equality unit published a report "Who Cares in the Campus?" on child care provision in higher education institutions in Ireland in November 1999. The report found that of the 40 institutions that responded to the 1998 all-Ireland survey, 30% provided child care support of some kind. The majority of these institutions provided child care support for both staff and students and the university sector accounted for 83% of the institutions with child care provision. The higher education equality unit concluded that the availability of quality, reliable and affordable child care is a key equality issue. It recommends the provision of child care facilities and-or child care grants to facilitate student parents participation in higher education and to facilitate equality of opportunity among staff members. The report noted that there were indications that the provision of child care is becom ing a more activated issue in some sectors of higher education, with two of the universities having plans to build crèche facilities and the issue of child care provision being under consideration in a number of institutes of technology.
The Higher Education Authority also addressed the question of child care provision in its guidelines for the development of student support services, which it provided to third level institutions in 1998. These guidelines recommend the provision of crèche facilities on site and where this is not possible, the provision of financial support for students who have to seek child-minding facilities off campus.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the question of providing child care facilities in third level colleges is primarily a matter for the individual third level colleges. The report referred to earlier identifies the different levels of provision currently being made and identifies a number of issues for consideration by the colleges. Furthermore, the Deputy will be aware of the Government's plan to invest more than £250 million in the national development plan on the development of a national child care infrastructure.
In relation to steps being taken by my Department, my Department's guidelines on the ESF aided student assistance/access fund for third level institutions refers to the possibility of assisting students with family responsibilities, particularly in relation to child care costs, who face significant financial difficulties. As the Deputy may be aware, this fund amounted to £1.296 million in 1999 and represents a significant increase on previous provisions.
