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Childcare Services Inspections

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 February 2019

Tuesday, 26 February 2019

Questions (585)

John Brassil

Question:

585. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she will take to revise the new compliance audits on childcare services in view of the issues regarding the matter by community providers of the service (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9561/19]

View answer

Written answers

Assisting families to access high quality, affordable early learning and care and school age childcare is a priority for me as Minister and hence I take these issues raised in your question very seriously.

My Department funds a number of early learning and care and school age childcare programmes. Given the large amount of public money that is used in funding these programmes, there needs to be an appropriate level of oversight and accountability. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs believes that our approach to compliance and supporting services strikes a necessary and appropriate balance. Our approach involves setting out the rules for the receipt of State funding, supporting providers to deliver services, and at the same time, the approach offers assurances to the taxpayer that the funding assigned is being spent as it was intended.

A high level of compliance with the rules of the various childcare schemes is vital to maintaining existing investment as well as ensuring future investment. It is a requirement that services operating the early learning and care and school age childcare programmes funded by my Department must be compliant with the ‘Rules for DCYA childcare funding programmes’ , the most recent of which was published on 9th August 2018. Compliance with these Rules is overseen by Pobal on behalf of my Department. Because subsidies for the early learning and care and school age childcare programmes are paid based on attendance (and not just enrolment), this is a vital governance component of the funding for which my Department is responsible.

I very much appreciate that community childcare settings, such as that referenced, provide a valuable service to children and families across the country. I also appreciate their stated concerns regarding their sustainability. Hence, significant support is available to them to bring their service onto a more sustainable footing, whilst being necessarily compliant with scheme rules.

My Department oversees an integrated Case Management system operated by Pobal through which a dedicated team assesses services facing challenges. This Case Management service provides non-financial assistance or support in the first instance. Financial supports are also available for services facing certain challenges which may also be accessed through Case Management following a financial assessment.

Results from Pobal compliance visits for the first part of the programme year 2018/2019 show some issues in relation to non-compliance which needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. I am encouraged however that most services have engaged constructively with the process so far. I would recommend all other services to get in contact with Pobal or their local City / County Childcare Committee if they need support or advice, or if they believe a sustainability issue arises.

I should also emphasise that as an FRC, some activities may be eligible for funding from elsewhere, rather than from childcare programmes per se, for example after school work related to literacy and numeracy may be eligible for funding under the Schools Completion Programme.

The existing targeted childcare schemes will be replaced later this year with the Affordable Childcare Scheme. In the coming weeks my Department will begin to roll out a major national information campaign in relation to how this new scheme will operate. A significant amount of time will be invested in working with services to ensure that they are ready for it. The new scheme will not have a snapshot window. Its attendance rules will seek to reflect the reality of children and parents' lives and the need for services to operate as businesses. The attendance rules will reflect a certain degree of flexibility whilst honouring the requirement to ensure that Exchequer funding is used for the purposes it was intended.

The Deputy will be aware that investment in childcare has increased by an unprecedented117% over the last four budgets, now totalling €575m per year. Community services access much of this growing investment. Turnover for many services has increased quite substantially (given that the number of servicers operating has increased only slightly) assisting services to review their business model to meet compliance requirements. The Affordable Childcare Scheme will mark another significant milestone for early learning and care and school age childcare in this country, creating an infrastructure from which Government can further increase investment in services over the next decade, This is in line with the commitment made in First 5, the Whole of Government Strategy for Babies , Young Children and their Families, I published last November.

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