Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 February 2018
193. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding allocated for 2018 towards upgrading of existing childcare accommodation and the provision of new childcare facilities; the number of new childcare places to be provided with the assistance of such grant aid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8984/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe budget allocated to Early Years and School Age Childcare Capital programmes for 2018 is €6.86 million. The programmes will operate under the following five strands:
Early Years Care and Education
Strand 1: New or expanding services; €50k maximum grant size
Strand 2: Essential maintenance; €20k maximum grant size
Strand 3: Natural outdoor play area; €7k maximum grant size
School Age Childcare
Strand 4: New or expanding services; €20k maximum grant size
Strand 5: Essential maintenance; €5k maximum grant size
Grant funding under each strand will be allocated in a competitive process, for which applications opened on 12th February 2018 and will remain open until 3pm on Friday 9th March 2018. Full details can be found in the applicant guidelines.
Of the five strands of funding available, Strands 1 (Early Years) and 4 (School Age) relate specifically to the creation of new childcare places. In predicting the outcomes of these strands at such an early stage, it is important to note that every application for funding is subject to a number of variables. For example, for Strand 1 (Early Years), applicants may apply for any amount between €20,000 and €50,000 in grant funding; for Strand 4 (School Age), the equivalent amount is between €3,000 and €20,000. Individual projects for these strands can exceed the maximum available grant but evidence of funding for the full project must be demonstrated.
Further to this, there is a large variance in the amount of childcare places that must be created per grant approved under each strand. In early years services, the age group for which places are being created is a significant factor. As you will be aware, childcare regulations require different staff ratios and floor-space per child. This is considered in the design of the Early Years capital programme so that, for example, under Strand 1 (Early Years), applicants must create a minimum of either 3 new places for 0-1 year olds, 5 new places for 1-3 year olds, or 11 new places for ECCE (3-5 year old) children.
For an applicant seeking funding under Strand 4 (School Age), the minimum amount of places to be created is determined by whether the project for which funding is sought is a relocation/expansion project (11 places), or a new build project (8 places).
At this early stage, and given the variables mentioned above, it is not possible to give an accurate prediction of the amount of new childcare places to be created under the Early Years and School Age Capital programmes in 2018. In particular, it will not be possible to estimate how many places might be created - and for which age groups - until the appraisal process is concluded in May 2018.
As the Minister I am committed to continuing to ensure access to high quality and affordable childcare. To this regard I ensured that childcare capacity was identified as a strategy priority in the recently published National Planning Framework which attracted additional funding of €250m in the National Development Plan. I am also committed to further research to comprehensively identify the capacity needs of the sector which may emerge over the next decade.
