Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 March 2013
86. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 135 of 29 January 2013, when and where will the pilot scheme be rolled out and when is it expected that the 6,000 after school child care places announced in the budget for 2013 will become available. [11382/13]
View answerI am very conscious that the forthcoming changes to the one-parent family payment scheme highlight the need for additional supports for lone parents that will be affected by these reforms. In particular there will be a need for additional after-school child care provision so as to assist former one-parent family payment recipients make their transition into employment or other activation supports. The joint child care initiative that both I and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald announced as part of the budget is in recognition of the support these individuals will require. This initiative will provide approximately 6,000 after-school child care places for low income families and social welfare income support recipients who gain employment and who have children of primary school age.
Officials from my Department, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Education and Skills are currently working out the exact details of this new after-school child care scheme. It is intended to launch the scheme nationwide on a phased basis throughout the year but it will commence with an initial pilot in April 2013. The scheme will build on the existing supports provided for, and implemented by, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in the child care sector, including the community child care subvention and the child care education and training support schemes, through which child care is provided to some 40,000 children of low income parents at reduced rates.
In addition, the Deputy may be interested to know that we are currently finalising a programme to be introduced to community employment that offers a career path for jobseekers who wish to become child care practitioners. This programme will provide access to a FETAC level 5 major award in early childhood care and education while on CE. This is currently being rolled out as a pilot programme and will later be extended to all CE schemes involved in supporting child care services. CE participants will be given up to three years, including work experience, on the scheme to complete this programme. It is almost finalised in the Department and will be a good initiative to help lone parents.
When the Minister introduced the changes to the lone parent allowance, she indicated she would move to a Scandinavian model. When the child benefit was cut earlier this year, she also said the money would be spent in that way. The savings made in either or both areas do not amount the pilot scheme figure to date. Have the savings made as a result of the changes made to lone parent allowance and the savings made from the child benefit cut been ring-fenced to ensure the full delivery of the 6,000 plus after-school places that are required?
It was logical from the start that a three year community employment programme would be put in place to allow for the scheme. There were indications last year that some people were not managing to fulfil the FETAC level 5 course because the time ran out and they had to seek extensions that were not always granted. I welcome that news.
It has taken a lot of work by dedicated officials to put the scheme together. As we roll it out on a pilot basis, it will be of great interest. Going around the country and visiting CE schemes, the whole area of personal care, be it in child care or older people, is important and significant employment opportunities exist there for people who are qualified at the relevant FETAC level.
The full roll-out of high level and comprehensive after-school child care provision would cost around €1 billion per annum. In the context of current budgetary constraints, that is an ambitious target but we have started by allocating the 6,000 new after-school places. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is looking at the demand from parents who are interested in a second pre-school year. We are currently constrained by budgetary factors but nevertheless, as the economy grows and we gain more savings from financial re-engineering of the bank deals, there will be greater scope for these important areas.
