Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 April 2025
94. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the uptake in the building blocks extension grant scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20291/25]
View answerAs a very proud TD for Dublin Fingal West, one of the youngest constituencies in the country, I cannot understate the demand for childcare. As a mum of eight-year-old twins who has never been able to access childcare, the delivery of additional childcare places is an absolutely priority of mine and I really hope it is of this Government. The Minister might give us an update as to the uptake of the Pobal building blocks scheme to deliver more childcare places.
The building blocks extension grant scheme is designed to increase the number of full day places for one- to three-year-olds, pre-ECCE age range, in existing core funding partner services. A total of €25 million has been made available and it is anticipated to deliver a significant increase in places for this age cohort.
The building blocks extension grant scheme is offering the largest capital grants in many years and allows, for the first time since the national childcare investment programme, for the purchase or construction of new facilities to be operated by existing community providers. Up to €750,000 is available to not-for-profit providers wishing to purchase or construct new premises delivering net additional capacity. The scheme has four strands: extensions to existing premises for private services, extensions to existing premises for community services, purchases of new premises for community services and construction of new premises for community services.
The building blocks extension grant scheme was launched on 4 November 2024. The closing date for applications was 30 January. A total of 78 applications were received: four purchasing applications, 16 private extension applications, 22 construction applications and 36 community extension applications. These applications come from a variety of locations in the country. Initial eligibility reviews, a full appraisal process and further suitability checks have been undertaken on each of these applications. The OPW and Pobal completed appraisals of eligible applications against three criteria, which were evidence of need, quality of application and readiness to progress the project, and the scores on these criteria have been collated. A list of recommended services is under review with further detail being examined in some cases. I expect to announce imminently the outcome of the appraisals and the next steps of the process.
While I welcome the Pobal scheme, 78 applications is not a lot and 78 additional childcare facilities, or not even childcare facilities, is not sufficient for the demand we have in Ireland and it will certainly not do anything to meet the demands of the people in Dublin Fingal West. Will the Minister look seriously for more funding to support childcare providers in areas of high demand? As I said, I cannot understate the demand in Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush and Lusk. It is one of the youngest constituencies in Ireland - Balbriggan is the youngest large town - and we need to be doing everything we can to support more childcare providers. Fingal is littered with empty sites that are supposed to be childcare facilities and we as a Government need to do everything to make sure they are delivered. I very much hope childcare is a priority of this Government.
I assure the Deputy that childcare and early learning is an absolute priority of this Government. The building blocks extension grant scheme is an important part of that. I appreciate that €25 million is €25 million, but the 78 applications were just the applications.
There was no impediment in saying "We will take only X number". That was what we received. It is important that up to €750,000 is available to not-for-profit providers wishing to purchase or construct a new premises delivering net additional capacity. It is a significant amount of money. The Deputy is right, however, about the number of properties around the place that are empty and were designated when they were being built to support housing developments and are not being used as childcare facilities. There is an issue with that. It is working beautifully in some parts of the country but I am well aware where it is not working. We are engaging with the Minister for housing on that, particularly as regards the planning guidelines and what we expect going forward as regards provision for childcare.
That is very welcome news. If the 78 applicants do not take up the €25 million, I ask the Minister to urgently reopen the scheme. Seven weeks was not a very long window for childcare providers to make applications to the scheme, so I would very much like her to look at reopening it if the money is not all utilised. In addition to that, however, I would very much appreciate it if the Minister looked for additional funding. We really need to prioritise areas like mine - Skerries, Balbriggan, Rush and Lusk - and do everything we can to provide more childcare facilities in these areas. We are not just doing families, women and parents a disservice; it is also a loss to the Irish economy. Female participation over the past 40 years has really driven the success of the Irish economy. Our best resource is our highly educated women and men. If we do not have childcare for them, we are failing ourselves as an economy, as well as parents and children who are unbelievably stressed by not having access to childcare.
To be fair, the Deputy has put it very eloquently and succinctly. Access to childcare and early learning opportunities is hugely important, and the Government recognises that. As regards our commitment, the present building blocks extension scheme money is required to be spent in this calendar year, and the Department does not currently have any further funding available for additional capital schemes this year. However, the approach to capital investment in future years is being considered within the context of the programme for Government commitments, and they are considerable when it comes to this area. For the first time, the programme for Government also contains a commitment to public provision and to capital investment to build or purchase State-owned facilities. Some early work is being carried out to explore options to introduce a segment of public provision. This will require significantly detailed policy development and design in order to progress and implement this programme. The programme for Government commitments will inform the Department's contribution to the upcoming review of the national development plan, which will set out capital allocations for future years also.
