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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 4

Written Answers. - Child Care Services.

Frances Fitzgerald

Ceist:

149 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of crèches, nurseries and child minders registered with the health boards to date; the number not registered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17155/00]

Frances Fitzgerald

Ceist:

150 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of child care facilities inspected in the Dublin area to date; the reduction in places on average recommended in each inspection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17156/00]

Frances Fitzgerald

Ceist:

151 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of child care facilities inspected in each of the health board areas to date; the reduction in places on average recommended in each inspection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17157/00]

Frances Fitzgerald

Ceist:

154 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children the timetable given to child care facilities to reduce the numbers attending in order to comply with the child care regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17160/00]

Frances Fitzgerald

Ceist:

166 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children if, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 128 to 130, inclusive, of 21 April 1999 and the subsequent letter issued to Deputy Fitzgerald, he will outline the number of child care places lost since the Child Care Regulations, 1996, came into effect; the number of places lost to date in each of the health board regions; the number of new child care places created in each of the regions in 1998, 1999 and to date; and if he will make a statement on the demand for child care in each of the health board areas, as assessed to date. [17369/00]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 149, 150, 151, 154 and 166 together.

The Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations, 1996, which give effect to the provisions of Part VII of the Child Care Act, 1991, provide for notification to – rather than registration – and inspection by health boards of pre-school services. The regulations apply to pre-schools, playgroups, day nurseries, crèches, child minders looking after more than three children and other similar services which cater for children under six years of age.

The purpose of the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations, 1996, is to build on the existing good standards in our pre-school services and gradually improve standards throughout the sector to secure the health, safety and welfare of pre-school children and to promote the development of children attending pre-school services.
Under the regulations, pre-school providers are obliged to notify their local health board that they are carrying on or proposing to carry on a pre-school service. On receipt of notification the health board will provide relevant information to the applicant and arrange for an inspection to be carried out by an authorised person.
Based on the most up-to-date information available from the health boards the number of notifications and the number of inspections, including first, second and third annual inspections, carried out to date is as follows:

Health Board

No. ofFacilitiesNotified

No. ofFacilitiesInspected

Eastern Regional Health Authority area including Dublin

1,065

1,019

Midland Health Board

200

231

Mid-Western Health Board

349

428

North-Eastern Health Board

303

368

North-Western Health Board

205

255

South-Eastern Health Board

330

355

Southern Health Board

548

656

Western Health Board

338

400

Total

3,338

3,712

Precise information on the number of pre-school providers who have not complied with the notification requirements is difficult to compile. Notifications to the health boards are ongoing as new facilities come on stream and inspections are ongoing also. Health boards continue to take steps to pursue pre-school providers who have not complied with the regulations.
Since the introduction of the regulations in 1996, health boards estimate that the reduction in places arising from the inspection process amounts to approximately 4,000 of which approximately 1,000 are currently being reduced. The reduction took place as the health, safety and welfare of the children could not be guaranteed. Approximately 943 of these are in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area; approximately 210 in the Midland Health Board area; approximately 565 in the Mid-Western Health Board area; approximately 685 in the North Eastern Health Board area; approximately 46 in the North Western Health Board area; approximately 140 in the South Eastern Health Board area; approximately 650 in the Southern Health Board area and approximately 818 in the Western Health Board.
The reduction should be seen in the context of approximately 47,400 child care places for 0-6 age group notified to health boards under the regulations.
The requirement to reduce places is mainly related to the availability of adequate space per child in the premises and/or the requirement to have a sufficient number of competent adults supervising the pre-school children in the service at all times. A reduction in the number of places is not necessarily recommended following inspection. Where deficiencies in services are identified during inspection, the health board and the providers work in a co-operative manner to make specific improvements in a planned way provided that any delay would not adversely affect the welfare of children. The plan may include a reduction in numbers achieved through natural reduction i.e. not replacing children who leave during the year, reducing numbers on a phased basis, reducing numbers at the beginning of the next school year or the provider moving to a larger premises. The timescale for making improvements varies from a requirement for immediate action to a phased implementation which may extend to six months – exceptionally, a longer period may be allowed. The Deputy will appreciate that, having regard to my responsibilities, the health, safety and welfare of children must be my primary consideration.
Health boards provide financial supports to certain pre-school services which cater for children who are regarded as being at risk or disadvantaged. Funding of approximately £3.9 million – capital and revenue – was provided by the health boards towards these services in 1999 and approximately 8,000 places were funded. An additional £1.75 million is being provided for this purpose in 2000.
The Deputy will be aware that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has been allocated £250 million under the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, for the expansion of its equal opportunities child care programme. The objective of the funding is to increase the supply of child care facilities and child care places and to improve the quality of services available. These measures comprise the equal opportunities child care programme which includes,inter alia, grant supports to establish, renovate, and/or upgrade and staff community based not-for-profit child care facilities and capital grants for self-employed private child care providers to build, renovate or upgrade facilities catering for not more than 20 children at any one time.
Applications have been invited by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform for these grant schemes.
In addition, it was announced in Budget 2000 that accelerated capital allowances, at the rate of 100% in the first year, will apply to expenditure incurred on and from 1 December 1999 on child care facilities which meet the required standards as provided under the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations, 1996 – the allowances are subject to clearance by the EU Commission.
An additional £1.4 million has been made available to my Department this year to strengthen both the pre-school advisory and the inspection role of the health boards. This will facilitate health boards in responding to the anticipated increase in the number of child care places.
It is generally acknowledged that there is an information gap in respect of the number of child care places available in this country and the demand for child care provision. In an effort to address this problem, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the European Social Fund has commissioned ADM Ltd. to develop a national child care census and database of group settings, that is, all child care facilities and services excluding individual childminders. This project involves the co-ordination of a national child care census and the establishment of a database on child care facilities in Ireland and will provide information about the range, extent and location of services currently available in terms of quantity and quality. The county by county reports of the child care database, which are almost complete, will provide much needed facts and figures and for the first time baseline statistics on group based child care facilities in Ireland will be available. The database will facilitate analysis of future demand for child care services.
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