Joe Walsh (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator for raising this matter in the House and I apologise for the inability of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, to appear. He cannot be here as he is currently on official business outside the country.

As the Senator will be aware, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has responsibility for the administration of the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000-2006, which makes grant assistance available under a range of measures to develop child care services throughout Ireland. Funding for the programme, which totals almost €437 million, comes from both the European Union and the Exchequer.

This matter relates to an application received for assistance from a community-based child care service. Under the EOCP, assistance towards staffing costs can be made available to community-based, not for profit child care services that have a strong focus on meeting the needs of disadvantaged families, where the parents require child care to enable them to fully partake in work, training or educational opportunities. It might be useful if I briefly outline the EOCP application process.

Each application undergoes an initial assessment by Area Development Management Ltd, on behalf of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. A programme appraisal committee, chaired by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, then considers each application and makes a recommendation to the Minister. The assessment of applications is based on material supplied by the applicant and each application is considered under the following five assessment criteria: the socio-economic profile of the area relating to the application; the quality of the proposal; the capacity of the applicants to implement the project; the level of integration and co-ordination; and the costings-value for money of the proposal.

With regard to the application referred to, the appraisal of the application raised a number of issues in relation to the project proposal, including the actual numbers of children being cared for compared to the capacity of the facility and the fee structures in place. Clarification of the funding mechanisms for the group was also necessary. Rather than delay a decision at that stage until all outstanding issues had been addressed, it was deemed appropriate by the programme appraisal committee to recommend to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that the group receive funding of €63,487 towards its staffing costs for a one year period.