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

As the Deputy will be aware, grants were made available across the Government to a range of organisations, and in my Department we grant money on a yearly basis, all well documented, to a range of organisations, whether it be Barnardos, Early Childhood Ireland or Forbairt. For example, Childminding Ireland gets €340,000 and NYCI gets several million euro. The Deputy knows the list of grant organisations. We believe that the provision of training and high-quality supports has been a particular feature of the grant-aided work carried out by these bodies previously under the Fianna Fáil-led Government, and both are accredited to deliver FETAC level 5 training. The additional provision was included in their revised annual work plan and is agreed with the Department each year as a condition of their annual grant aid. As I explained to the Deputy previously when I addressed a Topical Issue on this matter, this particular organisation is unique. Early Childhood Ireland is a limited company with charitable status. The money was given - it is not simply a matter of handing over a grant and not expecting anything in return - purely to provide training at a lower cost to a group of workers who were very poorly paid to reduce the cost of such training and so that it could be accessible to them at a subsidised cost. It was given to them by way of a grant as part of their annual grant. Therefore, the questions that the Deputy has asked do not arise.

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