I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Value for Money Review of the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006 (EOCP) was completed in June 2007 and the Report on the Review was submitted to and approved by the Government on 11 July 2007.
The Government's Value for Money and Policy Review Initiative is part of a framework to secure improved value for money from public expenditure. Its objectives are to analyse Exchequer spending in a systematic manner and to provide a basis on which more informed decisions can be made on priorities within and between programmes. The EOCP is a major EU co-funded investment programme with a total allocation of €535 million during 2000-2007. With the coming to an end of the EOCP in 2007, the Government introduced the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010 (NCIP) in January 2006 to ensure a smooth transition for childcare services and to continue to support the development of the sector. This Exchequer only funded programme has an allocation of €575 million during 2006-2010.
The Value for Money Review of the EOCP was intended to inform the implementation of the NCIP, in particular the new Community Childcare Subvention Scheme 2008-2010 which will replace the EOCP staffing support grant. It is not the intention to reduce the commitment to funding for childcare services as a result of the Value for Money Review but, rather, to ensure that the NCIP is efficiently and effectively implemented to secure the best outcomes from public funding. The recommendations of the Value for Money Review are being implemented by the Childcare Directorate of the Office of the Minister for Children. Some of the key recommendations of the Value for Money Review addressed the question of a new NCIP support scheme for community childcare services. These recommendations are provided for in the new Community Childcare Subvention Scheme which was submitted to the Government with the Value for Money Review in July of this year and which was also approved.
I understand that the total allocation to this Scheme is €153 million over the next 3 years. As the total expenditure under the EOCP staffing support grant scheme in 2007 is expected to amount to €37.25 million, I am pleased to say that this represents a very significant increase in the annual funding allocation to support community childcare services.