Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 December 2017
236. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding support her Department can offer to a community organisation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52204/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am acutely aware of the sustainability challenges facing certain childcare providers; including those in rural or less densely populated areas.
As the deputy may be aware, my Department made €1m of ‘Sustainability Funding’ available in 2017 to support services, which was directed towards those services that had been most severely impacted by staff qualification requirements in the 2016 Regulations.
Having received feedback from multiple stakeholders in the childcare sector, including Pobal, CCCs, and directly from childcare providers themselves, my Department has determined that future sustainability efforts should be broader in scope. Accordingly, in Budget 2018, I obtained an increase in funding for services experiencing sustainability issues (to €1.7M in total). My officials are currently developing policy priorities in respect of this additional funding which I hope will be of assistance to many services in the coming year.
I note that one of the challenges faced by the service in question relates to a decrease in registrations. In light of this situation, my officials have notified Pobal that this service requires urgent monitoring and intervention through the structured case management processes in place.
