Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

In last year's budget, I announced a major new Government child care strategy. Since then, investment in child care facilities has intensified. The EU co-funded equal opportunities child care programme has exceeded all targets and has generated over 56,500 child care places to date. More than 32,000 new places have been created and a further 24,500 places have been supported with grant aid allocations amounting to almost €500 million over the past six years.

There has also been a strong response to the new five-year national child care investment programme which I announced as part of the strategy last year and which is funded exclusively by the Exchequer. To date, over 900 capital grant applications, amounting to more than €170 million, have been received.

As part of the Government's strategy to increase the supply of child care, I introduced an income tax exemption last year for income of up to €10,000 per year from childminding where individuals mind up to three children, who are not their own, in the minder's own home.

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