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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 7 Nov 2000

Vol. 525 No. 2

Written Answers. - Child Care Services.

John Bruton

Question:

651 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the measures he will take arising from the recent announcement of additional funding for child care places to address the difficulties many facilities have in securing or retaining planning permission from local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24264/00]

John Bruton

Question:

672 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the guidelines his Department has issued to local authorities on the planning process as it applies to crèches and childminding facilities; if he has plans to issue new guidelines or amend existing ones; if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties caused for many existing and planned child care facilities in obtaining planning permission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24265/00]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 651 and 672 together.

Government policy on child care is to increase the number of child care places available and to improve the quality of child care services for the community. In support of this policy the national development plan 2000-06, provides £250 million for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to invest in a range of grant measures with the objectives of maintaining and increasing the number of child care places and facilities and improving the quality of child care service provision. The child care sector can also benefit from further supports announced by the Government in budget 2000 and contained in the Votes of the Departments of Social, Community and Family Affairs, Education and Science and Health and Children. More recently, the Government has provided a further £40 million for investment in additional support measures for the child care sector. In addition to increased funding for child care, the Government has provided for an integrated approach to the future development of childcare by directing that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform take responsibility for the co-ordination of child care over the course of the national development plan 2000-06.
I published draft guidelines for planning authorities on child care facilities for public consultation in May this year. The consultation period has now elapsed and the submissions received during the public consultation process are being considered with a view to publishing finalised guidelines as soon as possible. The draft guidelines explicitly acknowledged that planning permission for child care facilities had been identified as an area of concern for child care service development. The draft guidelines are intended to address this concern by ensuring a consistency of approach throughout the country to the treatment of planning applications for child care facilities and to identify the planning issues appropriate to child care facilities. The draft guidelines do not relate to childminding, which is generally a small-scale, home-based economic activity and does not generally require planning permission.
The guidelines will assist planning authorities in their efforts to make suitable provision for child care in their development plans and will also be of interest to developers, builders and child care service providers. The guidelines will also assist the planning authorities in fulfilling the requirement under the recently enacted Planning and Development Act, 2000, that the provision of services for the community, including crèches and other child care facilities, must be included as an objective in development plans. This provision will apply from 1 January 2001. In view of the importance of the issue and the advanced state of the guidelines themselves, when issuing the draft guidelines I asked planning authorities to take the draft guidelines on board straight away. The final guidelines will be issued as ministerial guidelines under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, which was commenced from 1 November 2000. Section 28 requires that planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála shall have regard to those guidelines in the performance of their functions.
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