Dáil debates
Wednesday, 2 February 2005
Adjournment Debate.
Community Development.
9:00 pm
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for attending personally as it is essential he addresses this matter urgently if funds already committed to St.Munchin's family resource centre in Limerick are not to be lost. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has committed â¬500,000 for the project in this year's allocation while the Family Support Agency has approved â¬161,000 to replace the inadequate facilities at the centre with a larger, updated premises appropriate to its needs. The centre applied for capital grant assistance under the equal opportunities child care programme for 2006, but received a letter indicating it was unsuccessful under the first tranche of funding. However, the letter referred to a review of remaining applications and the hope that the Minister would announce further projects in 2005. I urge the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to approve this vital project for the sake of the people who live in this RAPID area in Limerick city.
I have a letter from the administrative officer of the social policy and housing section of Limerick City Council which indicates in clear terms that Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government funding is subject to securing money from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The letter states:
I refer to my letter dated 2nd June 2004 confirming a contribution of â¬500,000 from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government towards the development of a Family Resource Centre at Clonconnane Road.
As previously advised, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has stipulated that this funding is subject to verification that the outstanding amount required to meet the total cost of the Childcare Facility and Family Resource Centre has been obtained from other sources, namely the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
The foregoing indicates how important it is for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to provide the necessary funding this year. The requirement for funding from this source and the extremely tight space available in the current centre are the reasons this matter is so urgent.
I visited the centre recently with Oireachtas colleagues and we were amazed at the level of activity in such a confined space. The centre consists of two city council flats in Ballynanty, which is a RAPID area. It houses 12 full-time and four part-time staff as well as FÃS trainees and volunteers. It is used by approximately 500 people every week to accommodate a crèche, pre-school activity, an after-school homework club for at-risk children, adult education, literacy training, family support, intercultural activities, money advice, bereavement counselling, a drop-in centre and community library, a senior citizens' club, the preparation of meals on wheels and community meetings.
The offices and public and kitchen spaces are tiny and inaccessible to people with disabilities. Staff, voluntary board members and the community are extremely positive about the work being done at the centre, which is why they have been willing to persevere in such inadequate conditions for so long. They know that maintaining the activities of the centre helps greatly to address the many social problems and challenges in the area, but if they do not get approval this year, the project will not be able to proceed.
It is planned to knock on a phased basis the empty adjacent flats and, subsequently, those occupied by the centre and to replace them with a new centre. The flats and back garden areas have been provided by Limerick City Council which is strongly supportive of the project. The local child care committee has also recommended it. As the centre fits perfectly the integrated development model outlined by the Minister, Deputy à CuÃv, who has responsibility for community affairs, there is total frustration and perplexity as to why it has not been funded. I urge the Government to engage in joined-up thinking on this project while there is time.
It has been suggested that value for money issues may be the reason the application has not been successful. As these issues were not raised with the centre, it was not given an opportunity to address them. The centre's representatives are willing to engage with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on this subject and have requested a meeting about which the Minister may have been approached by a party colleague. I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of including this project under the equal opportunities child care programme capital funding for 2005. On foot of the trouble in Limerick with justice issues, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform suggested that we needed supported community facilities to help people living in areas with difficulties of this sort. I urge the Minister to take the opportunity to provide funding for a facility which will make a significant difference to young children growing up in Ballynanty and put them on a better path than the one some of their older siblings may have taken. This is an opportunity to fulfil what the Minister stated in the media about Limerick providing such facilities for its less well-off communities.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the matter and giving me the opportunity to update the House on the important issue of child care and the project referred to in Limerick. I am glad the Deputy echoed the strong representations made by the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley, regarding this matter, as she generously acknowledged.
Child care is an important priority for the Government and we have increased funding for this important sector on a number of occasions since we first made commitments to the child care sector in 1998. The equal opportunities child care programme 2000-2006 is a key element of the national development plan and its original funding package of â¬318 million set in 2000 has increased to â¬499 million to be spent within the life of the national development plan or before the end of 2007.
The funding package has increased because the Government is aware of the importance of providing child care to support the economy and to support social inclusion through labour market participation. The Government has listened to requests from many groups such as St. Munchin's in Limerick which are seeking to build child care facilities to meet local needs. The Government has responded to those requests by making more capital funding available immediately rather than awaiting a follow-on programme to build on the momentum generated by the EOCP in community groups.
Capital and staffing grant applications for funding under the EOCP from the group in Limerick city are with my Department. Deputies O'Malley and O'Sullivan have approached my Department in regard to them. The group has been approved funding totalling â¬451,029 to date under the programme for its present centre, and the programme gives it annual support of more than â¬100,000 towards staffing costs. The group is hoping to build a new centre which will offer a wide range of services, as the Deputy pointed out.
The EOCP is a seven-year development programme which aims to increase the availability and quality of child care to support parents in employment, education and training. The demand for capital grant assistance from groups such as St. Munchin's was such that I considered it important to increase the capital provision for the current programme. Following discussions with my colleagues, particularly the Minister for Finance, additional capital funding of â¬90 million was made available over the period 2005 to 2009 in this year's budget, of which â¬50 million is being made available under the current programme and the remaining â¬40 million will flow under the next phase of the post-2006 EOCP. The total funding available for the programme is â¬499.3 million and includes an increased provision of â¬205 million for capital developments.
I announced an allocation of almost â¬35 million in capital funding to community-based not for profit groups in December 2004. The availability of the additional capital funding will enable me to make further capital grant assistance available over the coming months and years to groups which address significant child care service gaps and where the project proposal represents good value for money. In light of this, St. Munchin's family resource centre has been advised that while its project was not prioritised for immediate funding in December 2004, it is being reconsidered with all the other applications on hand and I hope to make further significant capital commitments during 2005 and thereafter to good projects which link with the aims of the programme in supporting child care needs of parents in employment, education and training, offering value for money and filling a service gap in their local area.
Efforts are being made to achieve a good geographical spread through the appraisal and approvals process. Limerick city and county has been approved almost â¬16 million under the child care programme with 60 capital grants approved to establish either new or quality enhanced community-based not for profit or private child care facilities. The county has also benefited from 36 staffing grants to community groups that have a focus on disadvantage. This funding to child care providers in Limerick will lead to the creation of more than 1,300 new child care places and to the support of 1,340 existing places. Limerick city and county child care committees also receive annual funding to support their developmental work.
I understand from the Area Development Management review that support allocated to the city and county of Limerick under the EOCP compares positively with other counties in the southern and eastern region. The EOCP is the Government's response to the need to develop a child care infrastructure to support parents in Ireland. There has been significant progress in the creation of a good child care infrastructure and I hope that the Deputy will acknowledge the progress made to date in the city and county of Limerick and will be reassured that every step is being taken to further develop services in the area as expeditiously as possible.