7 Feb 2017, 13:59
The Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs will meet tomorrow to examine the provisions of the Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS).
07 February 2017
The meeting will be convened across two sessions as follows:
Session A: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone; Officials from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs; Representatives from Pobal.
Session B: Representatives from Early Childhood Ireland, the Association of Childhood Professionals and the City and County Childcare Committees.
The meeting will commence at 9.00am in Committee Room 1 tomorrow, Wednesday, 8 February 2017
Committee Chairman Jim Daly TD, said “The Affordable Childcare Scheme, announced as part of Budget 2017 has, at its core, the aim of making childcare more affordable and reducing child poverty. It will replace existing subsidisation schemes with a single streamlined scheme and be more user friendly in its applications process. This will, of course, impact on those represented by bodies such as Early Childhood Ireland, the Association of Childhood Professionals and the City and County Childcare Committees and so we welcome the opportunity to engage with them on the practicalities of the scheme.”
“Tomorrow’s meeting will allow us to provide a forum for discussion between the representative bodies, Departmental and Pobal officials and Committee Members where we will explore it’s application and discuss any overarching concerns or specific issues within the scheme. Achieving input and buy-in from these bodies is a key driver to this schemes success and a collaborative approach is in the best interest when aiming to achieve quality care and education for children in their formative years.”
Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Ends