Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It would be open to it to apply. I have made the point previously that it is important that we know about the level of unmet needs in respect of community services. If we do not know about the unmet needs we cannot plan to meet them when and if resources become available. It is certainly open to organisations to apply and enter into discussions with the Department. We will speak to the local child care committee and analyse what services are currently available and where the gaps exist. We are doing that on an ongoing basis and one of the important projects with which Ms McLoughlin has been involved is attempting to develop a national approach to child care committees, which have tended to focus on the local. While the local and the regional are important, we also need to get data on a national level in order to identify the issues raised by the Deputy. There may be gaps and geographical inequalities and, if so, we will need to examine them.