Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 3 Jul 2001

Vol. 540 No. 1

Written Answers. - Child Care Services.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

402 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the total number of children receiving a childcare service, distinguishing those receiving this service from public providers and from private providers; and the staff involved in each case. [19575/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

My Department has responsibility for leading the development of child care service delivery in Ireland. £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 represents the most significant investment in child care by any Government in the history of the State. The funding, which has a focus on equal opportunities and social inclusion, 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 maintain and increase the number of child care facilities and child care places and to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of child care services.

With regard to the number of children receiving a child care service, my Department, with the assistance of EU funding, commissioned the first ever child care census which was carried out by Area Development Management Ltd. on my Department's behalf. The National Childcare Census was carried out over a period between 1998 and 1999 and a total of 2,607 child care facilities nationwide participated in the census. The number of children receiving a child care service in the census was 59,421, of which 35,204 were in private services and 24,217 were in community based services. This survey represents baseline data for the child care sector.

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. I have been informed that up to the end of June, 15,120 child care places will be supported by this funding which will ensure both the continuation of existing places and the creation of 6,375 new child care places, of which 2,193 will be in private services and 4,182 in community based services. The funding will support 11,653 child care places in the community sector and 3,467 child care places in the private sector as well as enabling many of the services to extend their hours of operation and enhance the quality of service provided.

The Deputy has also asked about the number of staff involved in the provision of child care. According to the National Childcare Census, there were a total of 5,498 paid child care workers in the surveyed services, 3,712 in the private sector and 1,786 in the community based sector. The number of child care staff positions which will be supported in services which have received funding from my Department since April 2000 is 1,934, of which 498 will be employed in private services and 1,436 will be employed in community based child care services. It should be noted that these staffing figures do not include FÁS CE/JI child care workers.

In addition, I have approved funding of more than £10 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 Childcare Organisations. This brings the total amount allocated under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme to over £50 million up to the end of June.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

403 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the total expenditure on child care in 2000 and to date in 2001, distinguishing in each case the amount for capital purposes and for current purposes and distinguishing that spent on services provided by public providers and by private providers. [19576/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

Under my Department's Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000 to 2006, funding is available to self-employed/private sector child care providers for capital expenditure only. This programme provides, for the first time, capital grants to private child care providers. The Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000 to 2006, is a roll-over programme with an open-ended application system which is necessary in order to facilitate the development of a child care infrastructure over the seven years of the national development plan.

The following table shows the amount approved specifically for capital and current purposes – staffing grant – and the amount drawn down by community based or private child care providers. In addition to the allocation in the following table, funding of more than £8.37 million was allocated in 2000 under the quality improvement measure towards local training models, innovative child care projects and to seven national voluntary child care organisations to develop their child care role bringing the total allocated in 2000 to £29,824,498.

Table 1–Amount of Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000 to 2006 allocated during 2000 and drawn down up to 31/12/00 (first grant allocation made on 18 July 2000)

Funding measure	Amount allocated up to 31/12/00£IR	Amount drawn down to 31/12/00£IR
Current
Staffing grant – Community based/Not-for-profit (normally over three year period)	15,310,676	680,000
Capital
Capital grant – Community based/Not-for-profit	4,317,494	66,750
Capital
Capital grant – self employed/private sector childcare provider	1,826,328	272,566
Total	21,454,498	1,019,316

The funding allocated under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000 to 2006, to date for 2001 in the grant categories to which the Deputy refers is £18,718,962. In addition, funding of almost £1.4 million was allocated so far this year under the quality improvement measure towards local networks and training models and under the childminder's initiative, bringing the total allocated to date in 2001 to more than £20 million.

Table 2 shows the amount allocated during 2001, specifically for capital and current purposes and the amount drawn down for community based and private/self-employed child care providers.

Table 2 – Amount of Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000 to 2006 allocated during 2001 and amount drawn down (01/01/01 to 28/06/01)

Funding measure	Amount allocated up to 28/06/01£IR	Amount drawn down to 28/06/01£IR
Current
Staffing grant – Community based/Not-for-profit (normally over three year period)	11,043,490	2,887,960
Capital
Capital grant – Community based/Not-for-profit	6,340,489	2,060,686
Capital
Capital grant – self employed/private sector childcare provider	1,334,983	956,243
Total	18,718,962	5,904,889

As the Deputy may be aware, a Government decision earlier this year to consolidate funding for child care services led to the transfer of school age child care funds to my Department from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and the Department of Education and Science. This funding includes the out-of-school hours funding measure previously within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs. This funding measure provided capital and staffing grants to community child care providers specifically for the provision of child care for school-going children, either after school hours or during school holidays. Some of the actual expenditure by my Department during 2001 refers to funding committed by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs during 2000 for out-of-school age child care. This spend is included in the totals outlined above for 2001.

The difference between the amounts committed and the amounts paid out to date reflects, in the case of capital projects, to the fact that payments are made in stages as work progresses. In many instances building contractors are unable to progress work on capital projects as soon as had been expected. In the case of staffing support applications, the difference between the amounts committed and the amounts paid out to date reflects the fact that the grants are allocated over a three-year period and the requirements placed on groups in relation to recruitment procedures. It should be noted that because payments are made in stages, some of the funding draw down to date in 2001 relate to projects approved for funding during 2000.

Apart from expenditure under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000 to 2006, over £4.393 million of my Department's expenditure on child care during 2000 is attributable to the Pilot Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 1998-1999. This programme was allocated a budget of £6.1 million for the two year period 1998 and 1999, together with an additional £5.1 million EU/ESF budget allocation in June 1999 to be expended by June 2000. Of this £4.393 million expenditure in 2000 from 1998/99 programme, £1.538 million was in capital expenditure and £2.855 million in current expenditure.

Michael Creed

Ceist:

404 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has received an application for capital funding for a family centre from an organisation (details supplied); and when a decision on this application will be made. [19587/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

As the Deputy may be aware, capital and staffing grant schemes for community-based/not-for-profit groups are part of the Government child care funding initiatives administered under my Department's Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000 to 2006.

With regard to the Family Centre in question, in December 2000 I approved a staffing grant of £105,872 over three years. I understand that, to date, £20,000 of this funding has been drawn down by the organisation.

I have been informed by the equal opportunities child care section of my Department that a completed application form for a capital grant was received from the organisation in question on 23 May 2001. I understand from my officials that this capital grant application was forwarded to Area Development Management Limited on 24 May 2001. A technical assessment of this application will be carried out by ADM Limited prior to referral to the programme appraisal committee.

Once the assessment and appraisal process is complete, I will make a decision shortly thereafter. In the interim, it would be premature of me to comment further on the application.

Gay Mitchell

Ceist:

405 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will examine the report Investing in Children (details supplied); if the four projects set out in detail will receive multi-annual funding from 1 January 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19591/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

As the Deputy may be aware, my Department operates a capital and staffing grant scheme for community based/not-for-profit groups as part of the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme. This programme has been established under the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, and is part funded by the European Union.

A Government decision to consolidate funding for child care services has led to the transfer of school age child care funds to my Department from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and the Department of Education and Science. This decision has brought the funding available for child care in my Department up to 2006 to £344 million.

I have been informed that the two projects, the Canal After School Club and the Dolphin House Homework Club, had each made an application for out of school hours funding to the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. As a consequence of the consolidation of Government funding for child care services, my Department is now responsible for processing these applications.

A technical assessment of these applications was recently carried out by ADM Limited prior to referral to the programme appraisal committee and I hope to make a decision shortly on both these applications. In the interim, it would be premature of me to comment further on the application.

With regard to the remaining two projects, Canal Communities Art Therapy Project and Creativity in the Classroom Project, I have been informed by my Department's equal opportunities child care section that applications for funding have not been received from either of these projects. Application forms and guidelines for child care grants are available from my Department's equal opportunities child care section on Lo-call 1890-20-90-30. Should either project wish to submit an application for funding under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, this application will be considered in line with the established guidelines. However, it should be noted that the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme is exclusively targeted at the provision and enhancement of child care places.