Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 28, after line 38, to insert the following:"(a) by inserting the following before paragraph 1:

"A1. Any part of a building used for the purpose of providing the Early Child Care Education Scheme.".".

We discussed similar amendments to these on Committee Stage and I have refined the wording. Amendment No. 9 provides that, "Any part of a building used for the purpose of providing the Early Child Care Education Scheme" should be exempt from commercial rates while amendment No. 10 provides that "Any part of land or building used by a body for the purposes of caring for sick persons under the Fair Deal Scheme" should also be exempt. The early child care year is part of the education system. No rates are payable in general by schools and educational facilities but many buildings are used exclusively for the early child care education scheme. I have checked with seven or eight different local authorities over the past few days. Some community facilities are not charged rates while others fly under the radar. A number of private facilities are rated while others are not. I am trying to provide a level playing pitch for all educational facilities. A minority of the 4,300 child care centres that cater for up to 100,000 children under the ECCE scheme and community child care schemes pay rates. I do not know if it is 1,000 or 1,500 of them because it is difficult to obtain that information. However, the majority do not pay rates for a variety of reasons. To level the playing pitch and reduce the cost of providers of this service and to help make child care affordable, the neatest, cleanest and easiest is to say a building used for the ECCE scheme should be exempt from commercial rates. The Minster of State will refer to the distinction between profit driven and not-for-profit providers. Essentially, I am arguing about instances where practically all the money in a facility goes specifically for that purpose - in some cases it may all attach to that purpose and the Minister cannot say if it is all exempt as that is not provided for in the legislation unless he can show me otherwise.

Many community nursing homes run by the HSE around the country do not pay commercial rates but many of their patients have been outsourced to the private sector and they are funded under the fair deal scheme. Many nursing homes are exclusively funded through the scheme and do not have patients who pay €1,000 a week out of their own resources. Those buildings should be exempt as well. I will press amendment No. 9.

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