David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response and congratulate him on the work that is going on there. If I am correct, the current schemes only support expansions, not startups. If somebody wants to start from scratch and build a childcare facility, is there any support for that? Has the Minister asked the local childcare committees to conduct an assessment of local need? If not, will he do so and publish the results to find out what the need is in each area where the childcare committees operate? What is the Minister's estimate of the future need for additional places as we go forward? Is it going up or going down? Are there areas in the country that are red on the Department's map where the need will be fairly strong and other areas where the need falls? What does a childcare provider do when told the facilities being used can no longer be used? I have an example of this myself in the case of a small school where a childcare provider was told it would be out in September as the facility was needed for the school's own students. What can that childcare provider do to provide places and a facility? How can the Minister provide assistance?

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