Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 January 2015
123. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide a commitment to raising the current level of spending of 0.2% of GDP to the European average of 0.7% of GDP on early childhood education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4119/15]
View answer124. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will ensure that all child care services are affordable and high quality by provision of State subsidies linked to quality delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4117/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 124 together.
My Department supports the provision of early childhood care and education by providing annually in the region of €260 million to provide for three childcare support programmes that make childcare services more affordable and ensure that more than 100,000 children have access to quality childcare. This high level of support has been maintained despite the difficult budgetary situation that prevailed in recent years.
It is clear that accessibility, affordability and high quality childcare can play a critical role in achieving a number of Government priorities, including improving educational outcomes for children, reducing poverty and increasing parents' participation in the labour market. To ensure that all the benefits of childcare investments are fully realised, future public investment in childcare must be evidence-based and strategically coordinated. I am establishing a cross-Departmental group to look at the provision right across the 0 to 6 age group as well as to consider the after-school needs of older school-going children. It is crucial that we develop a coherent whole-of-Government approach to investment in childcare services.
This new group will include representatives of the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Finance and the Department of the Taoiseach and will be led and supported by my Department. I will be asking that the work of this group be carried out within a relatively short time frame and I expect that the group will be in a position to report to me in the Summer.
I wish to point out to the Deputy that, while the annual spend on childcare related programmes has been in the region of 0.2 per cent of GDP in recent years, this expenditure does not include expenditure under other early intervention programmes or by other Departments on early years' programmes and services and therefore does not represent the full extent of State expenditure.
While it is my objective to incrementally develop the early child care and education programmes over the term of this Government as resources permit, it is the case that expenditure and funding requirements are generally considered as part of the annual estimates cycle and budgetary process. It is not possible for me at this time to determine what decisions may be taken by Government in the context of future budgets and how these decisions will impact on expenditure allocations for programmes and services falling within the Vote of my Department.
