The detailed information sought by the Deputy is not currently available in the format requested. Officials in my Department are compiling this information, which will be supplied to the Deputy in no later than 10 working days.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A.
Under the EOCP (Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000-2006), capital funding was available for the construction, renovation and/or equipping of childcare facilities. A total of €203.5m in capital funding was awarded to community based childcare services. A further €27.3m was approved to private providers.
A total of 1,959 childcare facilities were supported (with capital and/or staffing funding) under the EOCP.
According to EOCP rules, capital allowances made under the EOCP were subject to recoupment in the event that the building or facility in receipt of funding ceased to be a childcare facility or was sold within five years of the final grant payment being made. Following the winding up of the EOCP in 2006, this period has now elapsed.
The NCIP (National Childcare Investment Programme, 2006 - 2010) Capital Programme was a strategic infrastructural programme within the childcare sector with an aim to address local needs and meet local demands in the provision of childcare places.
Under the NCIP, the maximum funding available per childcare facility for community-based groups was €1.2m; for private providers, the maximum funding available per childcare facility was €100,000, with a ceiling of €500,000 per applicant across multiple facilities. Private providers were required under the programme to contribute at least 25% of the total cost of the capital project.
The total number of childcare facilities funded under the NCIP Capital Programme was 847 (of which 346 were community-based groups and 501 were private providers). A total of €177.8m was awarded under the programme.
Depending on the scale of the individual grant in question, grants under the NCIP were awarded on the condition that services remain in operation for a period from three years (for grants of €30,000 or less) to twenty years (for grants of €1m or more) following the grant award.
Pobal manage the operation of capital childcare programmes and contracting on behalf of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Since the end of both EOCP and NCIP, a total of €1.44m in capital payments have been recouped by the state due to closures, decommitals, etc. The following figures have been provided by Pobal and show the break-down of capital recoupments as follows:
|
|
Capital Recoupments
|
Capital Recoupments
|
Capital recoupments
|
|
Year
|
EOCP
|
NCIP
|
Total
|
|
2010
|
€27,097
|
€541,637
|
€568,734
|
|
2011
|
€385,386
|
€154,923
|
€540,309
|
|
2012
|
€65,610
|
€103,520
|
€169,129
|
|
2013
|
€28,490
|
€42,929
|
€71,419
|
|
2014
|
€4,703
|
€14,581
|
€19,284
|
|
2015
|
€5,997
|
€7,244
|
€13,241
|
|
2016
|
€19,917
|
€4,211
|
€24,128
|
|
2017
|
€22,468
|
€7,212
|
€29,680
|
|
2018
|
0
|
€6,976
|
€6,976
|
|
Total
|
€559,668
|
€883,233
|
€1,442,901
|
At present it is not possible to provide an accurate number of services that received funding under the above programmes that remain in operation to this day. This is a complex task due in part to changes in addresses, ownership circumstances and reference numbers for many services.
As part of planning for future capital investment in childcare, my Department is having due regard to the performance and operation of previous large scale capital investment programmes, including closures and de-committals of childcare services where state interests exist. This exercise will help inform our plans looking forward for investment in childcare over the next ten years.
