Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

The Department readily acknowledges the value of providing child care for people who wish to gain access to adult and further education opportunities. It is regrettable that certain crèches need to close, but ultimately it is a decision for each VEC, having regard to the level of funding available to it. Both community based and privately funded crèches in these areas are able to sustain a child care facility using that grant that is available. I just wonder why that cannot happen within a VEC setting. Where the VECs take a decision to close a crèche, eligible staff who operate in that crèche will be redeployed or offered voluntary redundancy as appropriate, but places provided in that crèche under the CETS can be made available to other local child care services. Therefore, it is not expected that there will be any significant loss in places as a result of the closure of these crèches, and little or no impact on lone parents in disadvantaged areas who are returning to education.

A number of VECs received a capital grant from Pobail for the building of specific child care centres, and I understand from the VECs that Pobail has advised that the grant is subject to a fixed contract. Should the VEC not be in a position to complete the contract, there is a possibility to engage in a process of decommitment and recovery. There is also a provision for the change in operation of the facility, with the permission of Pobail, for example to transfer the building and the crèche operation to an existing local community organisation, which would operate under the aegis of the county child care committee.

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