Written Answers. - Child Care Services.
John McGuinness
Question:
490
Mr. J. McGuinness
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
if his Department will consider establishing special funds or grants for child care projects, to be administered by each county enterprise board, based on a national policy on child care.
[12824/00]
My Department has been allocated £250 million over the course of the national development plan to improve child care provision throughout the country. The objectives of this funding will be to increase the number of child care facilities and child care places available and improve the quality of our child care services.
On 28 April 2000, I announced the availability of grants nationally for community based-not-for-profit child care organisations and small scale private child care providers. I will forward an application form and details to the Deputy and further application forms and information on the schemes announced are available from my Department's equal opportunities child care section. A lo-call service line has been installed to respond to inquiries from the public following the announcement of these grants.
Community groups and not-for-profit organisations, as well as self-employed child care providers catering for not more than 20 children at any one time, can now apply for grants to establish, expand or upgrade child care facilities. Community groups and not-for-profit organisations can also apply for staffing grants for full-time and part-time qualified child care staff which will assist them in their long-term planning and development.
The measures I recently announced will make a real difference to the future of child care in Ireland by increasing the number of child care places and improving the quality of child care services. The funding being made available will support the establishment, maintenance and expansion of services over the coming years. The range of these measures will ensure that the supply of quality child care will be increased, particularly in disadvantaged areas, and that these facilities will benefit from staffing supports for qualified child care workers.
Apart from the grants I recently announced, my Department is currently putting in place initiatives which will allow us to support the development of child care training, the enhancement of services for the national voluntary child care organisations, the development of local child care networks and innovative projects in child care These further initiatives will be announced in due course.
My Department has been given responsibility for co-ordinating child care service delivery over the course of the national development plan. This involves the establishment of national and local structures to advance child care service provision. The national co-ordinating child care committee will co-ordinate the delivery of child care funding under the national development plan and oversee the development of a child care infrastructure throughout the country.
The co-ordinating structures also include county child care committees whose role will be identification of local "black spots" and priority objectives for the county in the provision of child care and to put forward proposals for alleviating the position, development of a local child care information strategy, development of quality statements and targets for the county, liaison with my Department and the national co-ordinating child care committee regarding local developments, development of local networks of child care providers and assessing needs and proposing initiatives specific to that county.
It is anticipated that the local structures will provide a means for effective planning and targeting of resources where they are most needed. Membership of the committee will comprise local child care representatives of the statutory and non-statutory sector.
Officials from my Department's equal opportunities child care section recently gave a presentation to the chief executive officers from the county enterprise boards on the strategy for the development of child care provision over the life of the national development plan which I have set out above.
In view of the above, it is not intended to establish any special funds or grants under the equal opportunities child care programme for administration by the county enterprise boards.
