Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2013
633. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will outline the support available for the establishment of childcare including community childcare and in particular the costs for operators towards renting facilities for this purpose; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3766/13]
View answerCapital funding grants were available to both community and commercial child care providers in the years between 2000 and 2008 for the development and refurbishment of child care facilities, with approximately €425 million being invested during this period. However, because of the economic situation, a review of capital expenditure was undertaken in 2009 and a decision was taken not to approve any further capital grant applications for new developments under the capital programmes.
In Budget 2012 the Government provided €6 million for remedial, maintenance, and renovation work in established child care facilities and to assist these facilities to purchase equipment for early education and child care services. This funding has been allocated. A capital allocation of €3.25m for child care facilities is available to my Department in 2013, and I am currently considering how this allocation can best be utilised for the benefit of the child care sector. Established child care services can apply to participate in three child care support programmes which are currently implemented by my Department. These include two targeted child care support programmes - the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme and the Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) programme - and the universal Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.
The CCS programme provides funding to community-based child care services to enable them to provide child care at reduced rates to low-income and disadvantaged parents. This programme is currently closed to new applicants, unless the service applying is a position to replace an existing service which has opted out of the programme. Both community and commercial child care providers can apply to participate in the CETS programme, which provides €145 towards the weekly cost of full time child care places for approved FÁS and VEC trainees and students, and the ECCE programme, which provides one free pre-school year to all eligible children in the year before commencing primary school. It is expected that the new after-school programme, which was announced in Budget 2013, will be open to both community and commercial child care providers.
