I am aware of the relatively high cost to parents of child care in this country and of the difficulties that this presents, particularly where both parents are in employment outside of the home. Recent figures supplied by the CSO indicates the child care fees generally across the country increased by 2.4% in 2014. I do not have specific figures for the level of increase in the counties referred to by the Deputy.
Child care surveys carried out by Pobal indicate that the average fee for a child care place is higher in child care facilities in urban centres than in child care facilities in rural districts. The Pobal Annual Early Years Survey of 2013 show that the average fee for a full day place for a child older than 1 year, for example, is €174.48 in urban services. This is 9.2% higher than the average cost of €159.76 for similar services in rural settings. The cost of many goods and services tend to be more costly in urban centres but it is not the practice to increase State supports to meet these additional costs.
To help address child care costs, in the region of €260 million is provided annually by my Department to support a number of child care programmes. These programmes are in addition to the support provided to all parents in the form of Child Benefit.
The objective of the investment by my Department is to assist parents in accessing quality and affordable childcare. More than 100,000 children benefit from this investment each year. These programmes include the free preschool year provided under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. In the region of 68,000 children benefit from the programme at a cost of €2,375 per child per year. In the region of 3,750 children in County Kildare are availing of the ECCE programme this year and in the region 3,400 children are availing of the programme in County Meath.
The CCS programme provides funding to community child care services to enable them to provide quality child care at reduced rates to disadvantaged and low income working parents. Parents qualify as disadvantaged or low income on the basis of means-tested entitlements. In the case of full day care, parents qualifying for the higher rate of subvention under the CCS programme can have up to €95 per week deducted from the overall charge for child care in the participating child care facility. In the region of 25,000 children each year benefit from this programme. In the region of 260 children in County Kildare are registered CCS support this year and in the region 450 children are registered in County Meath.
Further child care support is provided to support a number of labour activation measures which assists parents returning to the workforce or availing of education or training opportunities. In the region of 250 children in County Kildare and 150 children in County Meath have received such support to date in the current school year.
To ensure that all the benefits of child care investments are fully realised, future public investment in child care must be evidence-based and strategically co-ordinated. I have established a Inter-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 child care services. I have asked the Group report to me by the Summer.
