David Stanton
Ceist:85 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans he has to further assist those who wish to provide child care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15092/01]
Written Answers. - Child Care Services.
My Department has responsibility for leading the development of child care service delivery in Ireland. The sum of £344 million comprising EU and Exchequer funding has been allocated to my Department over the course of the National Development Plan 2000 to 2006 to improve child care provision and quality throughout the country. This, as I am sure the Deputy will acknowledge, represents the most significant investment in child care by any Government in the history of the State.
The initial allocation to my Department of IR£250 million under the national development plan has since been augmented by further funding under the anti-inflationary package for child care and the transfer of funding for school age child care from the Departments of Social Community and Family Affairs and Education and Science. The transfer of funds follows a recent Government decision to rationalise child care funding and move towards what is in essence a "one stop shop" for funding available for child care providers. The funding, which has a focus on equal opportunities and social inclusion, is being promoted as the Equal Opportunities Child Care Programme 2000-2006 and is targeted at services which offer daycare facilities and services for pre-school children and school going children out of school hours. The overall aims of the programme are to improve the quality of child care in Ireland, to increase the number of child care facilities and child care places and to introduce a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of child care services.
On 28 April 2000, I announced the availability of capital and staffing grants for community based ‘not for profit' child care organisations. Capital grants for small scale self-employed or private providers catering for no more than 20 children were also made available for the first time. In October 2000, I was pleased to announce that capital grants are now available to private providers who cater for more than 20 children. Grants are also available for quality improvement projects such as local child care networks, childcare training and innovative projects.
Applications for funding under these and other measures can be made by submitting the relevant application form to my Department's equal opportunities child care section. All applications will be dealt with in an identical manner and all applications should be made to my Department whether it is for a crèche facility or an after schools project and whether it is on school premises or in a community centre. Completed applications are assessed initially, on behalf of my Department, by Area Development Management Ltd. This is followed by an assessment by the programme appraisal committee chaired by my Department before referral to me for final decision.
Applications are assessed according to the following five criteria: the socio-economic profile of the area relating to the application, the quality of the proposal, the capacity of the applicant/s to implement the project, the level of integration/coordination and the costings/value for money of the proposal.
In December 1999 the Government assigned responsibility for co-ordinating child care service delivery to my Department. Since then, my Department has established co-ordinating structures on a national and local level in line with the recommendations of the expert working group on child care. These co-ordinating structures are designed to support effective co-ordination and an integrated approach to future development of child care which takes account of the diversity of needs at local and national level. These co-ordinating structures include: a national co-ordinating child care committee to oversee the development of a child care infrastructure in an integrated manner throughout the country and county child care committees to advance the provision of child care facilities within the local area.
The Government's national child care policy has assigned county and city child care committees as the key local component in the development of a co-ordinated approach to quality child care. The county and city child care committees are charged with the responsibility for the effective inclusion of child care needs within the county and city development plans being drawn up by the county and city development boards. The county and city child care committees will work closely with the county development boards in this regard. Each committee will develop a county and city child care plan which, will cover the direction set out by each committee based on a shared vision and analysis of the needs within each city and county area.
Because child care training has developed in Ireland in an unstructured fashion a certifying bodies subgroup has been established to develop a national qualifications and training framework in child care. The framework will address qualification, certification and accreditation issues in the child care sector from foundation to third level. The framework, when completed, is to be submitted for consideration to the National Qualifications Authority in Ireland. It will assist in providing for progression routes and recognition of the child care role as a profession. The process includes consultation with the public through seminars which have been hosted nationwide.
Invitations have recently issued to interested groups in relation to the establishment of a working group on school age child care. This working group will look at developing quality guidelines for school age child care as well as make proposals on the development of school age child care services on an all year round basis. The inaugural meeting of the working group, which will be chaired by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, is scheduled for 7 June 2001 and the group is due to report by October 2001.
The progress of my Department's equal opportunities child care programme is confirmation of the Government's commitment to developing child care supply in Ireland. Since the announcement of the availability of funding in April 2000, I have committed funding in excess of £40 million to over 470 child care projects on the ground, both in the community and private sector. To date, over 14,000 child care places will be supported by this funding which will include the creation of almost 6,000 new child care places. The funding will also enable many of the services extend their hours of operation and enhance the quality of the child care provided. In addition, I have approved funding of £10.3 million for quality improvement projects such as local child care networks, innovative projects, local child care training models, the childminders initiative and supports for the national voluntary child care organisations. This brings the total amount allocated under the equal opportunities child care programme to over £50 million to date.
The measures in place reaffirm this Government's commitment to keeping child care at the forefront of its social agenda and show that this Government is delivering on its commitment to treat child care as a priority area for investment. I am satisfied that my Department is making this vital investment in an effective and strategic manner and that the equal opportunities child care programme of my Department is making a real difference to the families of Ireland. The strategies I have outlined, including both the funding measures and co-ordinating structures build on existing structures and will be further developed over the course of the national development plan.