Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Corkmen. Child care in Ireland is changing, and changing forever. Sustainable community services have a place in our ambitious plans. There should be no doubt about that. Services in Cork city have been proactive in producing research that makes clear the unique benefits of high quality care and education for children living in areas of urban disadvantage and elsewhere. This research is an important part of the long overdue national debate on child care, which is now under way. When I visited Togher in Cork six weeks ago, I met representatives of the community sector. As someone who has campaigned and worked in this area for over three decades, I could immediately identify with the challenges they face. It was a productive discussion with a sharing of information and views. The providers are also in regular contact with my Department.

The challenges which have been identified are not unique. They are issues that were raised by community providers in my constituency in Dublin South-West and by community and other providers last weekend when I attended and addressed the Early Childhood Ireland conference. I assure Deputies we are aware of the concerns and are taking action. Commitment and passion for child care is admirable but it is not enough if we are serious about child safety, as I am. Training, education and qualifications are needed so parents can be confident their child is being looked after in safety. Some community services, including in Cork, were impacted by recent changes in regulations. The rules were changed to prevent an over-reliance on community employment scheme participants who did not hold qualifications in child care. I accept this has caused short-term difficulties and my Department has now concluded arrangements for up to €1 million of additional funding to be made to these services. The first payments under this programme will be received by services this week, including in five Cork services.

My Department is in the process of securing the assistance of expert financial analysts to undertake work with services to assist them with assessing their sustainability. This work will link with the programme for Government commitment to conduct and publish an independent review of the cost of providing quality child care in Ireland. This commitment aligns closely with the work on the development of the affordable childcare scheme, including options for further development of the scheme over time. Initial scoping work on the independent review is being progressed in that context.

The independent review is a priority action for my Department in 2017. The affordable childcare scheme will deliver significantly increased rates of subvention to the most disadvantaged families. This scheme will lift the barrier that prevents parents from taking up offers of work, training and education because they cannot afford child care. Deputies will be aware that this is an ambitious task. We also have to get the IT systems right which will require more work. My officials are examining how parents and community child care services will benefit from the additional investment I obtained in budget 2017 for September. I hope to update Deputies in that regard in the very near future.

In budget 2017, I was pleased to secure €14.5 million to help ease the burden of administration on child care providers by paying for non-contact time on top of existing payments. Providers will receive payments this summer. Community child care services that provide the various funding schemes operated by my Department will receive payments. The average ECCE service with 25 children will receive approximately an additional €2,200. My Department and its agents, Pobal and the 30 city and county childcare committees work closely with services that are experiencing financial difficulty offering a range of supports and expertise.

I will continue to keep in contact with community services regarding the challenges they face. My officials are also working with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and other support services, to ensure we have the proper funding and supports in place for children and families to ensure that community child care providers can provide their unique role in our communities.

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