Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It has taken a lot of work by dedicated officials to put the scheme together. As we roll it out on a pilot basis, it will be of great interest. Going around the country and visiting CE schemes, the whole area of personal care, be it in child care or older people, is important and significant employment opportunities exist there for people who are qualified at the relevant FETAC level.

The full roll-out of high level and comprehensive after-school child care provision would cost around €1 billion per annum. In the context of current budgetary constraints, that is an ambitious target but we have started by allocating the 6,000 new after-school places. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is looking at the demand from parents who are interested in a second pre-school year. We are currently constrained by budgetary factors but nevertheless, as the economy grows and we gain more savings from financial re-engineering of the bank deals, there will be greater scope for these important areas.

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