Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2004
484 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when capital grant assistance will be made available for the provision of a child care facility at Clogh family resource centre at County Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17257/04]
View answerI understand from inquiries I have made that, to date, no application for capital grant assistance under the equal opportunities child care programme can be traced from the group in question. If an application is received, it will undergo a thorough assessment and appraisal to ensure it meets the criteria of the programme, which include increasing the number of child care facilities and places, enhancing the quality of child care provision in the locality, allowing parents to avail of educational, training or employment opportunities and ensuring that the development of child care facilities is co-ordinated at local level where appropriate. The application will be considered by the programme appraisal committee, chaired by my Department, for a funding recommendation before I make a final decision on it.
It is fair to point out that there has been a high level of demand for capital grant assistance under the present strand of the equal opportunities child care programme. As a result, any capital application received at this stage might have to await a further stream of funding unless it can clearly show that it is addressing a significant gap in service availability. I advise the Deputy that the group in question received a grant towards its staffing costs, amounting to €135,999 over three years.
