Child Care Services Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2017

Tuesday, 31 January 2017

Ceisteanna (768)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

768. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of subsidised places in child care available annually since 2011, in tabular form. [3756/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

It is my understanding that the Deputy requires the number of children registered under the following programmes since 2011: the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme and the three programmes collectively known as Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) - the Childcare Education and Training Scheme (CETS), After-school childcare (ASCC) and Community Employment Childcare (CEC). This information is outlined as follows:

Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme

The CCS programme provides funding to childcare services to enable them to provide quality childcare at reduced rates to disadvantaged and low income working parents. Parents qualify as disadvantaged or low income on the basis of means-tested entitlements.

Prior to its expansion in 2016, about 25,000 children could be catered for under the CCS each year.

Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) programme

Under the CETS programme, childcare services are contracted to provide childcare places to qualifying Solas or Education and Training Board (ETB) trainees or students for the duration of their courses. In the region of 2,500 full time equivalent places can be catered for annually.

After-School Childcare (ASCC) programme

The After-School Childcare (ASCC) programme is designed to support low-income and unemployed people to take up a job, increase their days of employment or take up a place on a Department of Social Protection Employment programme. The programme provides between 300 to 500 places per year, depending on the mix between after-school and after-school with pick-up places.

Community Employment Childcare (CEC) programme

The Community Employment Childcare (CEC) programme is targeted specifically at participants in the Community Employment (CE) schemes operated by the Department of Social Protection. The programme provides pre-school places for children up to the age of 5 and after-school places for primary school children up to the age of 13.

The CEC programme can provide in the region of 1,800 places per year.