Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2017
644. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if approval will be given for additional funding to expand on the public provision of suitable publicly provided and subsidised child care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39053/17]
View answerHaving sought clarification I understand that the Deputy's question relates to funding for all aspects of Childcare, including the Community and Private childcare sectors.
My Department continues to invest significant resources in the early years sector. In Budget 2017 I secured a 35% increase in childcare funding, which was additional to a similar 35% increase in Budget 2016. These increases reflect the emphasis being placed on developing a quality service with appropriately supported staff.
On 11th April 2017 I made an announcement that the Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS) would not commence this September but that a range of measures would be introduced in September by my Department to make childcare more affordable for thousands of families throughout Ireland. This honours a key commitment in the Programme for Government.
As part of these 'September measures', a new universal subsidy is available for all children aged between 6 months and 3 years of age (or until they qualify for ECCE if later than 36 months) in registered childcare. This amounts to up to €20 a week or €1,040 per year for children in full time childcare. The ‘September measures’ relate to the introduction of the Community Childcare Subvention Universal (CCSU) payment and the increase in band rates across the different strands of the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Scheme and the Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) Scheme.
I also announced additional funding totalling €3.5 million for 'non-contact time'. This funding recognises the role played by childcare practitioners in supporting the administration of the measures that have commenced in September to lower the cost of childcare for families in Ireland. There is a commitment to pay this additional €3.5 million between September and the end of this year. This is on top of the payment currently available for drawdown by services on foot of Budget 2017, where €14.5 million was secured towards 'non-contact time'. The majority of services have now been paid an average of over €2,000 under this scheme.
I am also keenly aware of the pressures on the sector with regard to availability of places and my Department has provided €8.4 million for its 2017 Early Years Capital funding programme. This represents a doubling of the €4 million provided under the 2016 Early Years Capital Funding Programme. In addition to this, my Department has also provided €4 million for its 2017 School Age Childcare Capital programme. This funding has been made available under three strands, and it is designed to create an additional 5,000 places.
Although my Department has been successful in securing additional funding for this sector over the past two budgets, as outlined above, I do acknowledge that much more must be done if we are truly to have affordable, accessible, quality childcare and continue to improve both the affordability and quality of childcare. To this end I am currently engaged with my Government colleagues with a view to securing additional investment for the childcare sector in Budget 2018.
