Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 20 Nov 2001

Vol. 544 No. 3

Written Answers. - Child Care Services.

Frances Fitzgerald

Question:

439 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of new child care places created in each health board area from 1998 to date in 2001. [29030/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue):

As the Deputy may be aware, grants for child care service providers are available under my Department's equal opportunities child care programme 2000-06. The programme is funded by the Government and the European Union under the National Development Plan 2000-2006. I have been advised by officials from my Department's equal opportunities child care section that figures on child care places created are not available for the period from 1998 to 1999 and that for the period from 2000 to the present, figures on child care places being supported by grants from my Department are not collated by reference to health board areas and can only be made available on a regional or a county basis. To date under the child care programme I have allocated more than £76 million, or 96 million, which includes more than £64 million or 80 million for child care services under the capital and staffing grant schemes and more than £12 million or almost 16 million towards quality improvement projects.

The funding will support more than 25,000 child care places in total and lead to the creation of more than 11,000 new child care places. It will also lead to improvements in quality and, in some cases, allow child care providers to extend their opening hours. Details on places being supported by funding under the current programme are outlined in the following table on a county basis.

Equal Opportunities Child Care Programme 2000-2006: child care places to be maintained and created from July 2000 to date, by county.

County	Existing child care places maintained	New child care places created	Total
Carlow	114	131	245
Cavan	279	328	607
Clare	420	537	957
Cork	1,542	876	2,418
Donegal	474	588	1,062
Dublin	3,525	2,793	6,318
Galway	737	789	1,526
Kerry	614	580	1,194
Kildare	202	380	582
Kilkenny	357	256	613
Laois	353	282	635
Leitrim	318	306	624
Limerick	702	458	1,160
Longford	144	265	409
Louth	474	271	745
Mayo	202	455	657
Meath	269	298	567
Monaghan	239	217	456
Offaly	224	142	366
Roscommon	268	144	412
Sligo	111	138	249
Tipperary	500	300	800
Waterford	467	219	686
Westmeath	635	145	780
Wexford	446	302	748
Wicklow	380	187	567
Total	13,996	11,387	25,383