Vol. 550 No. 4
597 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the various grants, current and capital, allocated under the Government's child care programme to child care providers, community and voluntary organisations and others in Dublin 24, Dublin 12 and Dublin 6W since 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8713/02]
As the Deputy is aware, the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000 to 2006 makes grant assistance available under a range of measures to develop child care services throughout Ireland. Funding for the programme comes from both the European Union and the Exchequer.
To date in Dublin city and county I have allocated more than €25 million in capital and staffing grants to 211 projects under the programme. The funding will maintain more than 4,400 child care places and lead to the creation of more than 3,000 new child care places in the county. Nationally, I have allocated more than €110 million in grants to more than 1,000 projects under the capital, staffing and quality improvement strands of the programme which will maintain more than 16,000 child care places and lead to the creation of more than 13,000 child care places. The programme aims, inter alia, to increase the number of child care services and places, and to enhance the quality of child care.
Records for my Department's equal opportunities child care programme are maintained on a regional and county basis. As a list of capital grants for County Dublin is quite lengthy I will not detail them here but, for the Deputy's information, I am making available a list, by county, of projects with addresses which have secured grant approval in County Dublin to date.
598 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason for the delay in payment of a staffing grant for a com munity playgroup (details supplied) in County Leitrim. [8748/02]
As the Deputy is aware, the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000 to 2006 makes grant assistance available under a range of measures to develop child care services throughout Ireland. The equal opportunities child care programme is part of the National Development Plan 2000 to 2006 and is co-financed by the European Union and the Exchequer.
The group in question submitted an application for a staffing grant which was approved by me in August 2001. The group requested a staffing grant of £72,000 over three years. However, in view of the recommendation of the programme appraisal committee that the group demonstrate its focus on disadvantage, it was agreed that it be funded for one year only while it prepared a local development plan for child care, with a focus on disadvantage.
Following the approval of grant assistance, ADM Limited which administers the equal opportunities child care programme on my behalf, prepares a contract with the project developer and ensures that all grant requirements are in place. I am advised by ADM Limited that the project group signed and returned its contract to ADM Limited on 7 December 2001 and that the first instalment of the grant was transferred to the group in question on 21 December 2001.
599 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason for discrepancies in funding to playgroups (details supplied) in County Leitrim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8749/02]
Each application and project proposal is appraised separately and on its own merits against a range of criteria specified under the programme which includes, inter alia, the scope of the project, the socio-demographic profile of the area, the quality of the proposal, the capacity of the group to implement the project, the level of integration of the project with other facilities in the area and the value for money which the project represents. This technical appraisal is carried out by ADM Limited on my Department's behalf.
On the basis of that assessment, the programme appraisal committee makes a recommendation to me with regard to the appropriate level of funding for each project and to any conditions which might be attached to that funding. Funding towards staffing is normally made over three years but in some cases where a project is in a developmental stage, a one year tranche of funding is provided to enable the project to develop and establish its sustainability and to demonstrate the degree to which it has a focus on disadvantage.
