Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2017
1963. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she has received correspondence dated 12 June 2017 from a child care provider (details supplied) in County Donegal regarding accommodation for children with physical and intellectual disabilities; if so, if she will meet with the provider in order to discuss the issues outlined therein; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28605/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 20th March 2017 I announced the Early Years Capital programme for 2017 in three strands, as follows:
- Strand 1: Additional Places (€3 million total available – maximum €50,000 per grant);
- Strand 2: Building improvements and maintenance/refurbishment (€500,000 total available, maximum €20,000 per grant, Community childcare services only);
- Strand 3: Natural outdoor play area (€500,000 total available, maximum €5,000 per grant).
The closing date for receipt of applications under this programme was Thursday 27th April. I can confirm however that the service referred to by the Deputy has not submitted an application for funding under any of the three strands of this programme. Since the application process for this capital programme has now closed, and in order to ensure transparency and fairness in relation to the application process, late applications cannot be accepted. However, if Early Years Capital funding (under the three strands outlined above) is a priority for services, I will revisit this in the context of the 2018 capital plan.
I also made €3 million in capital funding available in 2017 for services providing School Age Childcare which was open to both community/not-for-profit and private services comprising three separate strands, as follows:
- Strand A: Establishment of new School Age Childcare services. A grant of up to €20,000 will be available for the establishment of new services.
- Strand B: Expansion of existing services. A grant of up to €10,000 will be available for the expansion of existing services. The provision of additional places will be a criterion for this grant.
- Strand C: Improvement of existing services. A grant of up to €5,000 will be available to improve the quality of the service provided in existing services. This funding is intended to be used to increase the number of school age childcare places available and to also improve the quality of existing school age childcare services.
I can confirm that an application has been received from the service referred to by the Deputy for funding under Strand C of this programme. Applications received under this programme are currently being evaluated by Pobal. It is anticipated that Pobal will be issuing recommendations on funding under this programme to my Department over the coming weeks.
In view of the circumstances outlined above I believe that a meeting with the service referred to by the Deputy would not be of any assistance at this time.
Finally, the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), which is a programme of supports to enable children with a disability to access and fully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, was introduced in June 2016 and is administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department. Its goal is to empower service providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can fully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early years care and education. AIM is a child-centred model, involving seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted. The degree of support provided through AIM depends on the needs of the child in the context of the pre-school service. Under AIM Level 5, a minor alterations grant of up to €7,000 can be applied for. However AIM does not cover larger scale capital grants.
