Vol. 574 No. 1
456 Mr. Carey asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of times the Interdepartmental Committee on Childcare has met each year since January 2000; the Departments which were represented at each meeting; the grade of each representing official; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26250/03]
The Interdepartmental "Synergies" Committee on Childcare was established in early 2000 and was chaired by my Department. The aim of the group was to aid co-ordination and co-operation between Departments and State agencies involved in funding child care. The role of the "Synergies" Committee was to act as a forum in which the various Department and State agencies, principally with a function in funding child care could meet to exchange information on the schemes available and to look at ways in which the duplication of funding could be avoided.
The committee first convened on 19 February 2000 and the group had a total of eight meetings throughout 2000. The committee consisted of representatives from the following Departments and other bodies-agencies: Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Department of Health and Children, Department of Education and Science, Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, health boards, FÁS, NVCA, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin Corporation (social inclusion unit) and ADM Limited. The membership was made up of representatives normally at the level of principal officer or equivalent.
In February 2001, the Cabinet committee on social inclusion decided that the funding for out of school hours projects allocated to the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and the funding allocated to the Department of Education and Science for after schools child care projects would be transferred to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The overall result of this transfer of funds for school age child care was the consolidation of funding for child care under the umbrella of my Department's equal opportunities child care programme. In essence, the transfer of this funding put in place a "one stop shop" for child care funding and ensured that applicants, both private and community based, could apply for funding under my Department's equal opportunities child care programme. The transfer also meant that the issue of co-ordinating the funding initiatives of the various Departments, which was the principal function of the "synergies" committee, was taken care of.
My Department continues to actively chair the National Childcare Co-ordinating Committee, NCCC, also established in 2000, which oversees the development of a child care infrastructure in an integrated manner throughout the country. The NCCC meets regularly and provides a productive forum for discussion and for the exchange of views on policy issues among the key players involved in the child care sector. Membership comprises representatives of both the statutory and non-statutory sectors, including the social partners and regional assemblies. Where necessary, my Department meets other Departments-agencies bilaterally to discuss specific issues of concern.
