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Childcare Services Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 October 2019

Tuesday, 22 October 2019

Ceisteanna (71)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Ceist:

71. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way in which she can address the shortage of childcare facilities in the Dublin 7 area, the growing demographic of families that are having extreme difficulty in securing places for their children and the way in which some childcare facilities are charging perceived exorbitant up-front fees months in advance for places in the Dublin 7 catchment area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43153/19]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The number of early learning and care and school age childcare places in Ireland has doubled over the last 5 years in response to the 138% increase in investment. Despite this, there are some areas that continue to experience difficulties and in particular this tends to be for younger age groups, particularly babies and children aged under 3 years.

Pobal conducts research on behalf of my Department each year to examine a number of factors related to childcare services, including capacity.

The latest Early Years Sector Profile report, based on a survey completed in May 2018, outlined a 4% vacancy rate as a percentage of children enrolled in the Dublin city area. This highlights the limited capacity in the area, which may be zero is some neighbourhoods, and this data helps to inform policy development.

Parents in Dublin 7 who are experiencing difficulties accessing a place are encouraged to contact Dublin City Childcare Committee who may be able to assist.

In addition to the investment in childcare subsidies and the free preschool scheme, ECCE, the primary way my Department can support additional capacity is through annual capital funding.

In 2019, I provided €5.9m towards the creation of new places within the Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare sector. I hope to announce details for a new 2020 capital scheme in the coming months and I would encourage providers in Dublin 7 and elsewhere to consider expansion.

I am also actively pursuing measures to ensure that more childminders can register with Tusla and become eligible for childcare subsidies, thus also improving access to childcare for parents.

As regards fees and deposits charged by Early Learning and Care providers, these are determined by each individual service and my Department cannot direct the costs set by providers. However, I would call upon all providers to recognise the pressures faced by families, and to act responsibly with regard to deposits and fees.

My Department is in the early stages of planning a number of reforms to the funding model for Early Learning and Care, including considering mechanisms to incentivise fee control.  This is a complex piece of work and is likely to take some time to complete, but it is aimed at encouraging fee control and incentivising reasonable behaviour in this area by providers.

Question No. 72 answered with Question No. 57.
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