I wish to deal with an urgent matter, namely the inadequate funding provided by the Government for child care facilities. I highlight the plight of Millstreet Community Council, while making it clear that this is not an isolated case. I have been in touch with other such facilities, all of which are experiencing the same problem. Many of the projects are new and have not yet reached a crisis position but, having discussed the amount of staff grants available and the level of voluntary fundraising needed, all child care facilities will have to cut back services drastically or close completely.
The plight of Millstreet Community Council is best expressed by the words of the chairman in a recent letter addressed to me, in which he stated:
Due to terrible underfunding we now find that our staff have to be put on protective notice; three full-time positions and five part-time. This is going to be a huge blow to a small rural community. This will also directly affect the parents using our service for childcare while they avail of employment, training and further education opportunities. This is not an isolated case. Through our contacts with other groups we have discovered that others are in a similar position, facing fundraising efforts of up to €25,000 per annum and in other cases having to put their staff on protective notice also. There is an inherent flaw in the programme that funds big capital projects but fails to adequately staff the same. The Government has placed major responsibility on the shoulders of community groups in this programme and has failed to properly support these groups. Millstreet Community Council now has the responsibility for eight staff members and upwards of 40 children and their parents as users of our service on a staffing grant that will leave the group with an annual debt of €40,000. It is obvious that this cannot be sustained by the group and we feel very used and abused by a Government which would bleed the community spirit dry through a badly thought out programme.
They feel they have been badly let down on this occasion. After discussions and an appeal to the Department, the project ended up with a staffing grant of €169,000 over a three year period, which amounts to €56,000 per annum. It was obvious that this was insufficient to staff a full day-care facility offering baby places 11 hours per day, involving shift workers on rotas.
This leaves the community council in an untenable position. The facility is now offering a high level of service to all social groups. Costs have risen because there is a considerably high number of baby places along with a large number of disadvantaged people availing of the service. Long opening hours are necessary to provide this range of services for all age groups.
In addition to catering for the needs of the local community, the council also runs an asylum centre for women and children in the Drishane estate. Women in this asylum centre use the crèche facility for their children while they participate in local training opportunities. The neighbouring community of Ballydesmond, which is still in the process of completing its crèche, has suddenly realised that its project will not be viable in the second and third year, unless staffing grants are increased substantially. These projects are a major undertaking for any community. Only really strong communities with plenty of dedicated voluntary workers can even attempt such undertakings. If the establishment of child care facilities fails due to the lack of funding, the whole voluntary ethos in the area will be undermined.
The Minister and his Department must act immediately, otherwise we will have empty crèches in our towns and totally demoralised community groups. If the Minister fails to act it will have far-reaching effects.
