Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 8 May 1997

Vol. 479 No. 1

Written Answers. - Child Care Facilities.

Ivor Callely

Ceist:

10 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform his views on the need to provide child care, crèche and pre-school services in every community, particularly for working parents; his views on the best way to achieve such child care facilities to ensure equality in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12316/97]

Minister for Equality and Law Reform (Mr. Taylor)

I have no doubt that the availability of child care is a major influence in enabling parents with family responsibilities participate in the workforce. The type of child care arrangements most appropriate to the different circumstances of children and families is, in the first instance, the responsibility of parents to decide. However, the Government is committed to the stimulation and development of such facilities by employers, parents and community interests and would like to see increasing availability of child care facilities across the community, whether work-based or otherwise.

The provision of child care facilities, as a means of ensuring equality of opportunity in the workplace, is a matter appropriate for attention in the context of collective bargaining. Partnership 2000, the new national agreement between Government, the social partners and community interests, provides for the establishment of an expert working group, to be chaired by my Department, to devise a national framework for the development of the child care sector.

Women currently comprise over one third of the labour force. This participation is increasing as many more women are remaining in the workforce after marriage, thereby causing a continuing increase in the demand for quality child care. In many cases, the availability of child care is a crucial factor to their participation. However, the necessary child care facilities are not yet sufficiently widely available and my Department will continue to promote the adoption of family friendly arrangements in the workplace, which have been shown to be beneficial both to businesses as well as employees.

The success of the Pilot Childcare Initiative, as borne out in the report of the independent evaluator of the initiative, is an example of what can be achieved when provision is made to cater for the child care needs of a community. My Department is responsible for funding the pilot Childcare Initiative, which commenced in 1994 and has continued in each subsequent year, including this year. The scheme is intended to assist the initiation of projects for the establishment, on a pilot basis, of child care measures utilising the skills of trained local people, to enable local residents to undertake education, training, retraining and employment opportunities which they would otherwise be unable to do, in the absence of a child care facility. It is a condition of the scheme that grants are confined to groups in disadvantaged areas. For this purpose, it has been agreed that these be defined as areas in which there are area based partnerships/local community groups currently in receipt of funds from the global grant for local development.

The scheme is administered, on behalf of my Department, by Area Development Manager (ADM Limited) which is an independent company designated by the Government and the European Commission to support integrated local economic and social development in co-operation with relevant area partnership companies.

To date, 141 projects have been approved for funding in three tranches. In the initial period encompassing 1994 and 1995, a total of 73 projects were approved, a further 36 were approved in 1996 and 32 in 1997. A total of £2,359,000 was made available to fund these projects.

During the course of 1996, I arranged to have the initiative evaluated by an independent evaluator. The evaluation was in respect of the 73 projects in the initial tranche. I will confine my comments on the report to a small number of the more significant conclusions contained therein.

Projects aided under the initiative were able to generate, on average, an additional £1.33 from other sources, for each £1.00 allocated under the initiative. The report estimates that the number of children being cared for by projects assisted under the initiative has more than doubled, from 1,679 before funding to 3,650 after funding, i.e, an increase of 1,971 children. While more than half of the projects, 65 per cent cater for pre-school children only, the proportion of project making provision for school-going children has nearly doubled since the commencement of the initiative and now accounts for more than a third, 35 per cent of all projects.

Staffing ratios in child care projects aided under the initiative, particularly in the case of children under one year, have improved considerably since funding from the initiative was made available. The vast majority of projects now meet the Department of Health's recommended staffing ratios in each age category. The employment potential of assisted child care projects was highlighted by the report. It estimated that the total number of persons working in all 73 projects funded by the initiative increased by 90 per cent from 349 before funding to 663 after funding. The average number of people working in each participating child care project increased from 4.7 to 9.0.

Of particular significance is the finding that the majority, 66 per cent of mothers of children being cared for by projects funded by the initiative are involved, mainly on a part time basis, in some activity outside the home, notably paid employment, 22 per cent education and training courses, 24 per cent community employment, 16 per cent and other 4 per cent. It is worth nothing that, in a minority of cases, as well as promoting labour market integration and the uptake of courses, the projects are supporting families under stress where the child is referred, and paid for, by the local health board.

It is clear from these fundings that the initiative has been instrumental in bringing about a radical transformation in the child care projects which benefited from its funding and in the related communities.

The evaluator's report, which was launched on 7 February 1997, is being studied in my Department. In due course I will determine the manner in which the Childcare Initiative can be best progressed, having regard to the material furnished in the report and the results of its consideration by my Department.