Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
554. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if Pobal will provide details on the reasons a grant application was refused for a child care facility (details supplied) in Dublin 10; if an application for this grant can be made again or when it can be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29739/23]
View answerMy Department has allocated €9m in 2023 for The Building Blocks - Improvement Grant for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) facilities. Grants range from €35,000 to €75,000 across two separate strands: Green Energy and Retrofit. Services that signed up for the Core Funding Scheme were eligible for funding under the scheme.
Overall, 946 services submitted applications, out of a total eligible cohort of 4,200 services, which have signed up to Core Funding.
Pobal, who are administering the scheme on my Department's behalf advise that an application to the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant was submitted by the service referred to by the Deputy, applying for supports under Strand B - Retrofit, for costs associated with retrofit and accessibility of an existing building. Pobal further advise that the application did not meet a number of the scheme criteria.
Following appraisal, an unsuccessful decision was communicated to the service. At this point, all unsuccessful applicants to the Building Blocks – Improvement Grant were eligible to submit an appeal, in line with the applicant guidelines. Further guidance was also provided to all unsuccessful applicants, detailing a step by step guide for appeals. All appeals were eligible to be submitted on or before the closing date of 18th April, 2023.
I am advised by Pobal that the service submitted an appeal but was unsuccessful. Pobal issued a detailed communication to the service on 31st May 2023, setting out the grounds for their decision not to uphold the appeal.
As it stands, there is no further capital funding available to my Department for the early learning and childcare sector in 2023. Work is currently underway on the design and delivery of the Building Blocks – Capacity Grant which will address capacity gaps, fund an expansion in existing services and invest in the development of new services where most needed. The Building Blocks – Innovation Grant will pilot a range of innovative initiatives such as outdoor early learning and childcare services and I hope to announce details of these schemes in the coming months. Funding under both Grants will be allocated over 2024-2025.
