Vol. 577 No. 3
43 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Science the amount which was allocated to the 27 vocational education committees which requested special assistance by way of additional funding in respect of their child care service; and the number of participants in VTOS, Youthreach and senior Traveller centre programmes who were affected. [31314/03]
My Department provides funding to vocational education committees to assist towards the child care expenses of participants in the vocational training opportunities scheme, Youthreach and the senior Traveller training programme. Some 27 vocational education committees requested special assistance by way of additional funding in respect of 2003 for their child care services. These vocational education committees were asked to indicate their minimal requirements to maintain the service.
Following a review of budgetary provision for 2003 across the range of further education programmes and supports, it was found possible to re-designate certain elements of funding, €2 million in total, to enable supplementary grants to be allocated for child care.
The administration of grants to participants in VTOS, Youthreach and the senior Traveller programme is a matter for individual vocational education committees. The grant is a contribution to costs and any shortfall between the grant and actual costs must be funded from other sources.
A working group comprising representatives of my Department and the Irish Vocational Education Association has been established to review the criteria for the allocation of grants for child care with a view to making more efficient use of the funds available in the light of increasing demand.
I welcome back the Minister of State after her illness. Will she inform us of the number of VTOS and Traveller scheme students affected by the initial decision to cut the child care allowance? I have asked this question before but have not been able to elicit a response. Does the Minister of State have information on how many people are obliged to drop out of such courses due to the cuts? Many Deputies have anecdotal evidence of this matter from people attending their clinics, but perhaps the Minister of State has the actual number.
Are the supplementary allocations being made on a once-off basis or will there be further problems concerning support for child care expenses for the programmes next year? I note the Minister of State has established a working group but the problem is that many families were informed only a week beforehand that there would be no child care allocation. I do not want to see this happening again. Given that we are talking about minimal requirements, is there no intention to increase allocations in this area? People involved in working with the disadvantaged recognise that child care is one of the key elements needed to help people out of poverty.
I thank Deputy Crowe for his kind wishes. It is nice to be back, even if it is on the day that I am faced with questions. I will try to answer his supplementary questions as best I can.
The issue of child care has caused a good deal of concern. Some 27 vocational education committees contacted my Department directly to see if there was a possibility of getting further funding because, if not, it meant that certain programmes might have to be closed down and certain other cuts made. Obviously, I did not want to see that situation arising if at all possible, so I sought a review on how my Department could further supplement the VEC allocation. It is in this context that the €2 million arose, as I explained in my initial reply.
The 27 vocational education committees that approached me were accommodated. We asked each VEC to notify us of the amount needed to deal with what it saw as immediate concerns. We were able to provide 87.8% of the total the vocational education committees said was needed to maintain the level of service. This allocation was a one-off. It is important to realise that this money was channelled specifically to deal with this problem this year.
I have established a joint review between my Department and the Irish Vocational Education Association to ensure that these programmes will be in place to help those most in need. I await the outcome of that review.
The Deputy raised a specific question about the number of Travellers on such schemes. I do not have that specific information but I will try to accommodate the Deputy by way of correspondence.
We talk in terms of minimum requirements but will the same problem arise again next year regarding this area? The Minister spoke recently at the education committee about different groups getting funding and so on. Is this one of the groups earmarked for funding but on which funding has not been spent? Is that the inference? I presume this service will be successful and will develop but the money for it does not appear to be available. What will be the Department's requirements if this service is to expand? The term "minimal requirements" does not deal with the problem. Will the Minister of State indicate the total supplementary resources allocated to the vocational education committees? She said money was diverted. Will she give a breakdown of the areas of the Department's budget from which the money was diverted?
To answer the Deputy's second question first, it was not a question of moneys being diverted in that sense. It did not mean that any programme went without funding. It was money which would not be spent within that particular timescale and, therefore, it could be diverted with support from my colleagues in Government.
When we talk about child care and the responsibilities of the vocational education committees, it is important to point out that the grant is a contribution to costs and any shortfall between the grant and the actual costs must be funded from other sources. It is not sole funding from the Department but a contribution to costs. There is an increase in demand and that is the reason the review we have set in motion is now needed. I look forward to the recommendations of the review.
