John Deasy
Question:380. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will consider including Springboard courses under the child care and employment training support scheme. [10209/14]
View answerTuesday, 4 March 2014
Questions (380)
Written answers
Funding is made available by my Department to support a number of childcare programmes which provide a range of supports to parents of pre-school and after-school children, including the Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) programme.
The CETS programme provides funding to support parents, who are participating in SOLAS and the Education Training Boards training and education courses, with the cost of childcare. The eligibility criteria for parents availing of this support is determined by SOLAS and the Education Training Boards, which come under the remit of the Department of Education and Skills. A number of new strands to the programme have been added, including an after-school programme which provides support to social welfare recipients returning to employment and a further strand which provides support to parents participating in Community Employment schemes. Eligibility for support under these strands is determined by the Department of Social Protection.
The function of my Department is to monitor the take-up of childcare places available to those parents approved for support and to administer the relevant funding. Determining which courses will enable parents to qualify for support under the CETS programme is therefore a matter for the Departments of Social Protection and Education and Skills.