Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am very conscious that the forthcoming changes to the one-parent family payment scheme highlight the need for additional supports for lone parents that will be affected by these reforms. In particular there will be a need for additional after-school child care provision so as to assist former one-parent family payment recipients make their transition into employment or other activation supports. The joint child care initiative that both I and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald announced as part of the budget is in recognition of the support these individuals will require. This initiative will provide approximately 6,000 after-school child care places for low income families and social welfare income support recipients who gain employment and who have children of primary school age.

Officials from my Department, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Education and Skills are currently working out the exact details of this new after-school child care scheme. It is intended to launch the scheme nationwide on a phased basis throughout the year but it will commence with an initial pilot in April 2013. The scheme will build on the existing supports provided for, and implemented by, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in the child care sector, including the community child care subvention and the child care education and training support schemes, through which child care is provided to some 40,000 children of low income parents at reduced rates.

In addition, the Deputy may be interested to know that we are currently finalising a programme to be introduced to community employment that offers a career path for jobseekers who wish to become child care practitioners. This programme will provide access to a FETAC level 5 major award in early childhood care and education while on CE. This is currently being rolled out as a pilot programme and will later be extended to all CE schemes involved in supporting child care services. CE participants will be given up to three years, including work experience, on the scheme to complete this programme. It is almost finalised in the Department and will be a good initiative to help lone parents.

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