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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 7 Nov 2000

Vol. 525 No. 2

Written Answers. - Child Care Facilities.

John Bruton

Question:

790 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the measures he will take in County Meath to expand the provision of childcare places following his recent announcement of additional funding for this purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24263/00]

This Government has committed £250 million to the child care measure under the National Development Plan 2000-2006. In April of this year, I announced the availability of capital and staffing grants for child care providers under the equal opportunities child care programme.

Since I announced these measures in April, more than 140 requests for application forms have been received from County Meath. To date, three completed applications for funding have been returned. These three applications were for capital funding from private child care providers. Of these, two of the projects have been approved for funding totalling approximately £34,000. The third application is under consideration. The Minister of State at this Department, Deputy Mary Wallace, addressed the annual conference of the Irish Pre-school Playgroup Association in Meath last weekend and appealed to existing and new providers to return their completed grant application forms to my Department. My Department has no closing date on the childcare grants scheme to facilitate the return of application forms but we can obviously only allocate money when applications are submitted.

In October I announced details of the Govern ment's anti-inflationary package for child care which provides £40 million over and above the £250 million already allocated to child care. My own Department has been allocated £26.5 million of this which will be used as follows: a sum of £9 million will be provided for capital grants for private providers of more than 20 childcare places – this new grant will allow providers to establish or improve childcare facilities; a sum of £5 million to provide grants for community-based/not-for-profit childcare facilities which do not qualify for existing grants schemes; a sum of £1 million for improved staffing grants for community-based/not-for-profit projects – this will allow staffing grants of up to £80,000 to be allocated to these projects; a sum of £6.5 million for a national childminders initiative – this is the first national initiative targeted specifically at childminders and will involve start-up grants, information campaigns and other supports; and a sum of £5 million for improving quality through training and research – this will help ensure that people working in child care can progress in their careers and that the highest standards are achieved in childcare.
The Departments of Education and Science, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Environment and Local Government have been allocated funding under the £40 million anti-inflationary package for child care as follows: a sum of £2.5 million for the use of spare classrooms for child care. More than 100 schools have already indicated a willingness to allow their spare classrooms to be used for child care and this funding will provide them with financial support towards this; a sum of £5 million for a national after-school initiative. This will provide grants for schools to put in place programmes running until at least 6 p.m; a sum of £1 million for child care employment grants. Valued at up to £5000 these grants will be available through city and county enterprise boards for private providers who take on new child care workers; and a sum of £5 million for the provision of child care in local authority developments. This will involve existing as well as new housing schemes.
Application forms for the measures operated by my Department may be obtained from my Department's Equal Opportunities Child care Section. My Department will give consideration to any applications for funding for child care facilities from providers throughout the country.
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