Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 May 2005
313 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the membership of the city and county child care committees; the amount expended by each of these committees each year since they were established; if the work of the committees has been evaluated; his further plans for the future development of these committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17003/05]
View answerThe city and county child care committees, CCCs, have a broad membership drawn from statutory and non-statutory bodies and include parent and provider representatives and a wide representation of child care interests in the relevant county. The typical membership of a CCC would include representatives of the Health Service Executive, local uthority, social partners, VEC, FÁS or local employment service,area partnerships, national voluntary child care organisations, community groups active in the development of child care in an area, private child care providers, parents, and other individuals as appropriate. The chairperson of each committee is automatically a member of the county development board, ensuring that child care remains a central aspect of each county's development plan.
The strategic objective of each of the 33 city and county child care committees, established under the equal opportunities child care programme 2000-2006, EOCP, is to advance the provision of quality child care services within the local areas through development of a co-ordinated strategy for childcare provision in the area-based on analysis of needs and overseeing effective implementation against targets set by the committee; development of an information strategy concerning the provision of child care within the county which also updates and develops the baseline data provided in the national child care census; and development and support of local county wide networks and initiatives which target all categories of child care providers. In 2005 the total funding allocated to the CCCs under the EOCP amounts to €7.6 million with a further €965,000 allocated for training, information and networking actions as part of the national childminding initiative.
The following table outlines the total expenditure reported of each CCC in each of the years since they were established. The table also outlines the total spending reported by the CCCs in the first three months of 2005.
|
County Child Care Committee Expenditure Reported |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total Expenditure Reported for the following Periods |
||||||
|
Year ended 31/12/2000 |
Year ended 31/12/2001 |
Year ended 31/12/2002 |
Year ended 31/12/2003 |
Year ended 31/12/2004 |
Quarter Ended 31/03/2005 |
|
|
Border, Midlands and West Region |
||||||
|
Cavan CCC |
— |
38,277 |
136,619 |
206,260 |
190,388 |
45,121 |
|
Donegal CCC |
— |
39,064 |
203,117 |
317,964 |
288,566 |
74,033 |
|
Galway CCC |
17,889 |
109,084 |
170,818 |
526,855 |
451,605 |
97,085 |
|
Laois CCC |
— |
1,163 |
85,328 |
155,505 |
169,849 |
23,588 |
|
Leitrim CCC |
— |
3,660 |
92,103 |
231,956 |
192,017 |
32,506 |
|
Longford CCC |
— |
7,906 |
117,918 |
178,136 |
186,577 |
41,431 |
|
Louth CCC |
— |
— |
136,171 |
217,261 |
207,170 |
41,225 |
|
Mayo CCC |
— |
3,308 |
19,555 |
242,468 |
226,206 |
50,327 |
|
Monagghan CCC |
— |
26,880 |
140,392 |
243,956 |
203,538 |
50,479 |
|
Offaly CCC |
— |
4,260 |
73,466 |
221,311 |
190,617 |
33,501 |
|
Roscommon CCC |
— |
— |
74,881 |
214,128 |
194,009 |
37,458 |
|
Sligo CCC |
— |
— |
180,963 |
215,715 |
157,820 |
41,859 |
|
Westmeath CCC |
— |
— |
167,390 |
231,555 |
215,905 |
43,360 |
|
Total BMW |
17,889 |
233,602 |
1,598,721 |
3,203,070 |
2,874,267 |
611,973 |
|
South and East Region |
||||||
|
Carlow CCC |
— |
8,656 |
91,434 |
183,038 |
174,814 |
48,504 |
|
Clare CCC |
— |
14,007 |
153,781 |
244,550 |
226,423 |
47,347 |
|
Cork City CC |
— |
— |
92,596 |
260,445 |
233,133 |
38,994 |
|
Cork County CC |
— |
— |
92,545 |
369,459 |
303,802 |
— |
|
Dublin City CC |
— |
— |
53,623 |
473,125 |
380,031 |
162,707 |
|
Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown CCC |
— |
— |
42,435 |
196,377 |
248,160 |
54,430 |
|
Fingal CCC |
— |
13,623 |
50,453 |
231,765 |
318,889 |
49,476 |
|
Kerry CCC |
— |
— |
158,583 |
329,690 |
274,808 |
32,838 |
|
Kildare CCC |
— |
— |
65,321 |
294,274 |
300,665 |
59,990 |
|
Kilkenny CCC |
— |
— |
126,866 |
212,640 |
175,516 |
32,914 |
|
Limerick City CC |
— |
— |
64,344 |
144,000 |
179,115 |
— |
|
Limerick County CC |
— |
— |
130,501 |
303,265 |
243,966 |
55,819 |
|
Meath CCC |
— |
— |
97,516 |
291,058 |
293,103 |
61,350 |
|
South Dublin CC |
— |
— |
34,707 |
165,931 |
193,601 |
40,603 |
|
Tipperary North CC |
— |
— |
107,226 |
222,076 |
192,520 |
23,286 |
|
Tipperary South CC |
— |
13,455 |
119,001 |
211,238 |
189,078 |
37,371 |
|
Waterford City CC |
— |
9,416 |
53,098 |
200,422 |
183,064 |
45,443 |
|
Waterford County CC |
— |
19,631 |
50,625 |
203,061 |
195,493 |
95,694 |
|
Wexford CCC |
— |
23,256 |
140,807 |
320,504 |
253,649 |
58,795 |
|
Wicklow CCC |
— |
— |
63,390 |
169,959 |
241,080 |
41,804 |
|
Total for the SAE |
— |
102,044 |
1,788,852 |
5,026,877 |
4,800,910 |
987,365 |
|
Total for EOCP |
17,889 |
335,646 |
3,387,573 |
8,229,947 |
7,675,177 |
1,599,338 |
In 2001, each CCC was asked to prepare a five-year strategic plan for the development of child care services to address the specific child care needs of its own area. The strategy set out the framework for the development of child care based on a shared vision and analysis of the needs within the county. Each strategy was thoroughly appraised prior to its being approved by the national child care co-ordinating committee. The strategic plan outlines the committee's aims and objectives over the five-year period and is implemented through yearly action plans which receive funding under the programme. The annual action plans are subject to a thorough appraisal before the applications are approved for funding by myself through the programme appraisal committee structure.
In order that the EOCP be enabled to adequately track and report upon the wide range of work being undertaken by the CCCs with the assistance of EOCP funding, the CCCs are required to submit a range of reports to fulfil monitoring requirements including annual action plans, quarterly updates on progress, and annual reports. The CCCs are also required to submit quarterly financial reports to ADM which monitors the EOCP on behalf of and in conjunction with my Department. The EOCP is monitored using a number of indicators over the three strands of the programme. The CCCs are monitored on a quarterly basis using the following indicators:
Quality
Number of Providers supported in developing policies and procedures
Number of actions/initiatives aimed at increasing the range of childcare services in the county/city
Capacity Building (Providers)
Number of Providers supported at pre-development stage
Number of providers assisted at pre-application stage
Number of providers assisted by CCC who submitted an EOCP application
Number of providers supported to meet ADM reporting requirements
Information
Number of research initiatives/audits/needs analyses completed
Number of publications completed
Number of information sessions held
Networking
Number of provider networks supported by the CCC
Number of providers affiliated to CCC supported networks (excl. childminders)
Number of parent networks supported by the CCC
Number of parents affiliated to CCC supported networks
Number of inter agency collaborative actions/initiatives (excl. other CCCs)
Number of collaborative actions/initiatives with other CCC(s)
Social Inclusion
Number of initiatives focused specifically on disadvantaged groups
Number of providers from disadvantaged areas given advice/support
Number of providers from disadvantaged areas who were supported by the CCC and who submitted applications to the EOCP
Equality and Diversity
Number of initiatives specifically aimed at promoting greater participation in childcare by children with special needs
Number of initiatives specifically aimed at promoting greater participation in childcare by members of ethnic minorities/Travellers
Number of providers (new/existing) given advice/training on special needs
Number of providers (new/existing) given advice/training on equality/ diversity issues (other than special needs issues)
Training
Number of training courses
Number of training hours (total from all courses)
Number of people referred by the CCC to other agencies for training
Total number of participants on training courses (excl. childminders)
Number of participants on accredited training (excl. childminders)
Number of participants who completed accredited training (excl. childminders)
Capacity Building (CCC Board and Staff)
Number of full committee meetings held
Number of facilitated capacity building sessions for the committee
Number of training courses completed by CCC staff members
Childminding
Number of Childminder grant applications received
Number of Childminder grants approved
Number of Childminders operating in the county/city who are known to the CCC
Number of Childminder networks supported by the CCC
Number of Childminders affiliated to CCC supported networks
Number of Childminders in the county/city notified to the HSE
Number of information sessions for Childminders
Number of Childminder participants in CCC run/facilitated training
Number of Childminder participants on accredited training
Number of Childminders who completed accredited training
The CCCs play a pivotal role under the equal opportunities child care programme providing a local focus in the development of child care infrastructure in Ireland and bringing quality awareness to the child care sector throughout the country. This role will further evolve over time, and I look forward to seeing them play an even greater part in the development of Irish child care over the coming years.
