Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 November 2012
136. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection the outcome of her visit to Sweden to examine child care; her plans to progress the model and proposals of the interdepartmental subgroup on school-age child care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49914/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra149. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress that has been made to date on the development of her plan for a Scandinavian style child care system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49915/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 149 together.
The role of the Inter-Departmental Group (IDG) on School-Age Child Care is to define the best model for the provision of school-age child care to meet the needs of the customers of the Department, including those of lone parents. The model will seek to address the child care requirements of children aged between 7 and 12 years (inclusive) both during the school term and the school holidays.
Extensive work has been completed by the Group to quantify the level of school-age child care that is required to support the relevant social welfare income support recipients, in particular lone parents, for each year up to and including 2015. An examination has also been carried out of existing child care schemes and of the capital investments already made by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in this sector. Based on these findings the IDG are engaged in detailed discussions to define an effective school-age childcare model and to determine the level of funding required. Once completed, the proposals will be submitted to Government for their consideration.
I recently visited Sweden to study a number of items of interest to me. I am particularly interested in the Swedish childcare system and what Ireland can learn from that model. There are many aspects of the Swedish childcare system that are very impressive. My visit to a Reggio Emilia-inspired pre-school was one such example. The school is very much a central part of the community and allows parents to avail of work and/or educational opportunities while their children are being cared for.
The Swedish childcare model is a very comprehensive and expensive system. A more detailed examination of this and other international systems would be required to establish the most appropriate model for Ireland.
