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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 Jun 2000

Vol. 520 No. 4

Written Answers. - Child Care Facilities.

David Stanton

Question:

197 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the way in which he is working to facilitate and support the provision of child care, crèche and pre-school facilities; the supports available for those who wish to establish such facilities as community or commercial concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16052/00]

My Department has responsibility for the child care measure under the regional operational programme of the National Development Plan 2000-2006 which provides £250 million to invest in the development of child care service provision. The objectives of the programme are to increase the number of child care facilities, increase the number of child care places and improve the quality of child care services in Ireland. Funding will be provided under the following initiatives: capital grants for community groups and not-for-profit organisations for the establishment, renovation or upgrading of child care facilities; staffing grants to support staffing costs for community based child care facilities; for the first time, capital grants for self employed child care providers catering for not more than 20 children at any one time, to build, renovate or upgrade child care facilities; grants towards the development of local child care networks; grants to enhance the services of the national voluntary child care organisations; grants to encourage and promote local child care training models that assist in the enhancement of quality child care provision; and innovative projects identified over the course of the national development plan.

On 28 April I launched the capital and staffing grant measures. They were also advertised during the same week in the national and provincial newspapers. My Department has received over 3,000 requests for application forms.

In addition, further funding has been provided to other Departments with a role in the development of the child care sector. The Department of Education and Science now has a budget of £5 million per annum to invest in grants to school managements to develop after-school child care services in school premises together with £74 million over the life of the national development plan for early childhood education which will fund areas such as curriculum development, parental guidelines for children aged from birth to three years and targeting provision for children aged three to four years with a particular focus on children with special needs and disadvantaged children. The Department also has a budget of over £2 million for a scheme which supports the child care costs of participants in VTOS, Youthreach and senior traveller programmes.
The Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs has an annual allocation of £5 million to support the provision of out-of-school hours child care services in disadvantaged communities. It is proposed that the £5 million funding will mainly be made available to the projects funded under the Community Development Support Programmes CDSP, viz: community development programme; family and community services resource centre programme; core-funded community and family support groups programme; and other local initiatives which subscribe to a self-help, community development ethos in tackling issues of poverty and disadvantage.
In keeping with the spirit of partnership which informs the way in which these community development programmes are managed in the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, a working group representative of the local community development groups themselves and other interests and expertise in the child care area has been set up to advise on the detailed design and implementation of this child care scheme.
A circular has issued to all the projects funded under the community development support programmes inviting applications for the out-of-school hours funding. There will be three separate rounds of funding with closing dates for receipt of completed application as follows: – 26 May 2000,: 30 June 2000 and 22 September 2000. I understand that to date 35 applications have been received for the first round of funding and the working group will meet to assess these applications later this month.
A separate circular on the scheme will be prepared shortly by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs for other local initiatives, not currently funded under the Community Development Support Programmes, who wish to apply for funding under the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs' out-of-school hours child care services scheme.
The additional allocation of £5 million for the out-of-school hours services will greatly enhance the child care work being provided by the community development support programmes and will also make provision for the extension of this excellent scheme out to other local initiatives which subscribe to a self-help, community development ethos in tackling issues of poverty and disadvantage.
The role of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Hanafin, in child care relates to the implementation of the Child Care (Pre-school Services) Regulations, 1996 which give effect to the provisions of Part VII of the Child Care Act, 1991. The regulations provide for notification to and inspection by health boards of pre-school services. The regulations apply to pre-schools, playgroups, day nurseries, crèches, child minders looking after more than three children and other similar services which cater for children under six years of age. A review of the regulations will be initiated in 2000 and this will take place in the context of the other developments which have occurred since the regulations were introduced.
The purpose of the regulations is to build on the existing good standards in pre-school services and gradually improve standards throughout the sector to secure the health, safety and welfare of pre-school children and to promote the development of children attending pre-school services. I understand that the health boards provide a range of advice and assistance to pre-school providers at all stages of the notification and inspection process. Many of the boards also maintain close liaison with the national voluntary child care organisations and other relevant local agencies who are involved in providing advice and assistance to pre-school providers. An additional £1.4 million has been made available to the Department this year to strengthen both the pre-school advisory and the inspection role of the health boards. This will facilitate health boards with the planned increase in the number of child care places.
Health boards also 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 under the Child Care Act, 1991, with regard to the promotion of the welfare of children and the provision of family support services. Funding of approximately £3.9 million, capital and revenue, was provided by the health boards towards these services in 1999 and approximately 8,000 places were funded. An additional £1.75 million is being provided in 2000 for this purpose.
It was recognised early on that action had to be taken to increase the supply of child care places. My colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, provided a number of tax reliefs to encourage the provision of crèche facilities and increase the supply of places in the 1999 and 2000 Finance Acts.
The 1999 Finance Act introduced capital allowances for expenditure on the construction, refurbishment or extension of child care premises which meet the required standards as set out in the Child Care Act, 1991. These allowances were improved in this year's Finance Act. For expenditure incurred on and from 1 December 1999, 100% capital allowances are allowable in year one. The relief applies to all child care facilities whether provided by employers or commercial child care operators and the reliefs can be used by owners of the facilities or by investors who wish to invest by way of leasing arrangements, subject to the normal tax rules which apply to such investors.
The 1999 Finance Act also provided an exemption from a benefit-in-kind charge where employers provide free or subsidised child care for their employees. The exemption applies where the employer makes a premises available or, if a joint scheme, is involved in both the management and financing of the child care facility.
A booklet is being prepared by my Department which will give information on the range of funding that is available from all Government Departments. It is my intention to make this booklet available on my Department's website and from the equal opportunities child care section of my Department shortly.
My colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, published draft guidelines for planning authorities on child care facilities on 17 May 2000. The Minister has informed me that the draft guidelines are intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country to the treatment of planning applications for child care facilities. They will also assist planning authorities in their efforts to make suitable provision for child care in their development plans. The Minister has also informed me that the draft guidelines, do not, however, relate to child minding, which is generally a small-scale, home-based economic activity and which does not generally require planning permission.
The draft guidelines have been issued for a two month public consultation period until 21 July 2000. All interested parties have been invited to submit any comments they may have to the Department of the Environment and Local Government and I have been informed that all submissions received will be taken into consideration before a final version of the guidelines issues as soon as possible thereafter. In view of the urgency of the need for additional child care facilities, local authorities have been asked to take the draft guidelines on board from now on both in reviewing development plans and in exercising planning control functions. I am informed, however, that these guidelines relate solely to the land use planning aspects of child care provision.
I am conscious of the need to ensure that those with child care budget lines work together to ensure an integrated approach to the future development of child care using our resources most effectively. To facilitate the development of policy at an interdepartmental level and at the level of implementation my Department will be leading the co-ordination of child care service delivery over the course of the national development plan which involves the establishment of structures at national and local levels involving the key stakeholders including an interdepartmental committee, chaired by my Department, to focus on co-operation and co-ordination between Government Departments and State agencies with a role in child care; a national co-ordinating child care committee, chaired by my Department, to oversee the development of an integrated child care infrastructure throughout the country; and county child care committees to advance child care service provision at local levels.
The Department of Health and Children has taken on the role of vice-chair in the committees at national level. The establishment of county child care committees will be facilitated by the relevant health boards and will operate under guidelines which are currently being developed by the national co-ordinating child care committee.
I am confident that the new structures will provide a forum for consultation and the sharing of expertise which will benefit the future development of the child care sector.
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