Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 November 2022
443. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the build blocks funding programme that his Department administers can provide for extensions to existing childcare buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56647/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe availability of high-quality early learning and childcare that is affordable and accessible is a key Government priority. Since 2015, significant increases in State investment in early learning and childcare has given rise to a substantial growth in the numbers of children participating in these services.
During 2021, my Department successfully secured €70m in the revised National Development Plan allocation. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars: Building Blocks - Improvement Grant, Building Blocks - New Capacity Grant and Building Blocks - First 5 Initiatives Grant.
My Department has allocated €9m for The Building Blocks - Improvement Grant for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) facilities.
The purpose of the Building Blocks – Improvement Grant is to improve the energy efficiency standards across the sector, supporting the Government’s ambitions as laid out in the National Development Plan 2018-2027 and the Programme for Government, while also supporting the continuous improvement of the physical environment of existing Early Learning and Childcare infrastructure. The programme is split between two strands - Strand A (Green Energy) and Strand B (Retrofit) and grants ranging between €35,000 and €75,000 will be awarded. Details of eligible and ineligible expenditure is provided in the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant Application Guidelines.
While the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant does not provide funding for extensions, it is part of a wider Building Blocks Capital Programme designed to meet current and long-term Early Learning and Childcare infrastructure needs. The Building Blocks - Capacity Grant will be announced in the coming months by my Department which will address the capacity gap, providing investment of up to €45m in the expansion of existing facilities and development of new provisions.
