As the Deputy is aware, my Department has responsibility for leading the development of child care services in Ireland. My Department's equal opportunities childcare pro gramme has been allocated EU and Exchequer funding of €437 million through the national development plan to improve child care provision and quality throughout the country. This represents the most significant investment in childcare by any Government in the history of the State and is targeted at services which offer day care facilities and services for pre-school children and school-going children out of school hours.
The Deputy has raised the matter of expediting the approval of applications for funding with Area Development Management Limited, which administers the programme on behalf of my Department. I am aware that while the aim is to process applications within three months, they may take somewhat longer to process in some instances as a result of the volume of applications for funding which are being submitted. I am advised by ADM that since the launch of the programme in July 2000, 2,100 applications have been received. Of these, 1,443 have been fully processed and almost €117 million in funding has been committed under the equal opportunities programme in the form of capital or staffing grants to child care services on the ground, as well as funding to the national voluntary child care organisations. The applications approved to date will support over 30,000 child care places including the creation of over 13,700 new child care places.
I understand from ADM that just over 100 applications have been placed on hold at the request of the applicants and that a final decision will be taken on a further 70 projects within a week or so. Of the 470 active applications still on hand, 253 have been submitted within the last three months. I have been informed by ADM that it anticipates that the recent recruitment of three replacement staff will further expedite the throughput of applications to decision. The Deputy will understand that to address the childcare needs of the county, it is vital that funding is invested in quality child care services. Any childcare service that receives funding under the equal opportunities childcare programme must be of the highest standard and be sustainable. As the Deputy will appreciate, when committing public moneys to projects it is incumbent that we take every reasonable step to ensure that applications for funding comply with the relevant rules and regulations, such as EU regulations on grant aid under the Structural Funds, and that the recommendations made to myself have been properly evaluated under the criteria of the grant schemes.