Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
531. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if capital funding is available for community childcare facilities to improve facilities such as access to toilets in order that they can continue to offer their full range of services such as breakfast clubs and afterschool care (details supplied). [23490/20]
View answerOn 10 June 2020, my Department announced a €75m package of funding to facilitate the reopening of early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services.
The new funding package contains a number of significant elements including a once-off reopening support payment (RSP), a once-off COVID-19 capital grant and continued access for eligible providers to the Revenue-operated Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).
The purpose of the COVID-19 Capital Grant is to contribute towards the capital costs associated with the reopening of ELC and SAC, this includes items such as sinks, toilets, washing machines, enabling services to make modifications to their facilities to ensure compliance with the government’s public health advice for childcare services.
The closing date for both the RSP and the Covid-19 capital grant has been extended from 28 August to 18 September 2020.
My Department continues to provide funding for all ELC and SAC subsidy schemes for the 2020/21 programme year at existing capitation and subsidy rates.
As part of the July stimulus package childcare services now have access to the Revenue operated Employment Wage Subsidy scheme (EWSS). A special exemption for early learning and childcare services to the 30% turnover rule within EWSS has been included to recognise the need to retain capacity in the sector and support parents to access childcare places and get back to work.
My Department oversees a Case Management process through which local City and County Childcare Committees (CCC’s) and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to early learning and care services who may need assistance.
Financial supports, which may also be accessed through the Case Management process, are available for community services presenting with sustainability issues and following a financial assessment by Pobal.
Pobal co-ordinate the overall case management process with the CCC administering initial, and on-going, case management assistance. The CCC, where appropriate, will proceed to make a formal notification to Pobal who will provide more consolidated support while verifying the service’s necessity for a financial intervention. All services who require support should contact their local CCC in the first instance. The contact details for all CCCs can be found on www.myccc.ie.
