James Bannon (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, and wish her well in her new term of office.

I wish to draw her attention to the urgent need for funding under the equal opportunities childcare programme for Granard, Ardagh and Legan, County Longford. Dedicated and hard-working groups are struggling to provide essential child care assistance in often highly unsuitable premises and conditions. Granard, Ardagh and Legan are extremely handicapped areas with high unemployment and its ensuing problems. Low income families struggle to provide child care facilities and pre-school education to their children. Over the years, projects in these areas have endeavoured with much success to provide low-cost child care for all, regardless of income.

In Granard, 58 children attend the play group and Montessori school. Set up in 1985, it has now reached a stage where expansion is essential. Granard, a small town situated on the Cavan, Westmeath and Longford border, is approximately 16 miles from Longford town. Historically, this town was known for lack of employment, single-parent families, early school leavers and a high percentage of settled Travellers. Unemployment stands at 18.1% in the urban area, which far exceeds the national average. Similar situations apply to both Ardagh and Legan, details of which are in their respective applications for funding.

The lack of education has been identified as a recurring problem in these areas with a high illiteracy rate among the unemployed and disadvantaged. This problem relates to early school leaving and the lack of interest of some parents in education. Many other parents are in the unfortunate position of being unable to help their children in the most basic areas of literacy and numeracy. In 2002 R&H Consulting was commissioned to examine the problems in Granard. It suggested that a full day care service should be provided to assist in breaking the illiteracy cycle. The same applies to Legan and Ardagh.

The Granard community play group is successfully trying to provide such a facility and it is important that it is given every possible assistance. This group provides low-cost child care for parents and children. It is trying to establish an after-school homework group as part of the proposed new development which would include full day care facilities, after-school service and an enhanced existing play group and Montessori school. Marginalised parents of school-going children would greatly benefit from the support of the staff of after-school services and would allow parents to avail of employment or education opportunities which would otherwise not be available to them due to the constraints of child care. This valuable project has requested funding at the most cost effective level possible and has full support from everyone in the area concerned with education and provision of services for young people. The future expansion and prospects of extending its services to the community depends on an ability to provide necessary and essential facilities.

The people of Longford have waited years for funding for child care services. The future prospects of the children of these Longford towns and the important breaking of the cycle of illiteracy and deprivation depends on early intervention and the provision of funding to ensure that facilities are available in the interest of both the young people, their parents and the community as a whole.

I understand an announcement will be made soon as the Department is at the final stages of assessment. We wait with bated breath. There is an enthusiastic local committee. One of the chairpersons of the committee, Ms Mary Lyons, is in the Visitors Gallery this afternoon and I acknowledge the work and effort she and her committee have put into bringing this project to fruition in the area. However, it now awaits an imminent announcement on funding. I plead with the Minister of State to facilitate those three groups. It is not often that I look for project funding but on this occasion I plead from my heart that these three groups be allocated it. I understand the time, effort and energy that these three communities have put into getting these projects up and running. I hope the Minister of State does not now dash their hopes. I look forward to a positive response from her.

Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)
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How could she refuse these groups?

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Bannon for raising this matter on the Adjournment. As the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform cannot attend the House, he has asked me to take this matter.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is aware that there are capital grant applications for funding under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000-2006, with his Department for each of these locations in County Longford, which are together seeking almost €3 million. The Senator will be aware that the review of the capital provisions of the programme is taking place largely due to its success in stimulating activity to develop child care throughout Ireland.

In carrying out the review, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform found that every county has benefited from considerable support for new child care facilities under the programme. In all, funding to create some 28,300 new places has been approved to date. This will, when fully drawn down, bring an increase of 50% in the number of centre-based child care places throughout Ireland since the start of the programme in 2000.

The programme also makes grant assistance available towards the staffing costs of community based not-for-profit child care facilities which have a clear focus on disadvantage and which support disadvantaged families who are in work, training or education. Staff funding, which is current expenditure as distinct from capital expenditure, is helping to support a further 26,600 child care places.

The EOCP originally set aside over €140 million in capital funding to create new and enhanced child care places. The availability of this ground-breaking funding, together with the demand for child care places, sparked considerable interest in the capital element of the EOCP. As we are all aware, capital investment is an investment for the future as well as for the short term. As a result, the child care directorate of the Department undertook the review of the programme funding to ensure that as much funding as possible would be channelled to support the creation of much-needed new child care places.

The Border, Midlands and Western Regional Assembly also agreed to make a small increase in its capital commitment to the EOCP and this facilitated a significant increase in the capital programme, particularly for the development of community based not-for-profit groups which are delivering pre-school child care and integrated child care services, bringing the total amount available to €115 million from a total capital budget of nearly €157 million. The Senator will be aware that this is effectively an increase of more than €15 million in the capital provision for the programme over its eight year life to the end of 2007.

ADM, on behalf of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, is currently carrying out an extensive review of the programme's capital commitments to date, numbering over 1,100 and at a value of €114 million, to ensure that all the grant commitments previously entered into will be realised. Projects may be awaiting planning permission or the completion of tender processes before reasonable assurance can be taken that they will proceed. If they do not, the funding set aside can be decommitted and made available to another project. Expenditure under the programme covers the period to the end of 2007 and must take place in a planned manner as must grant approvals, to ensure the programme can meet its financial commitments at all times.

Efforts are being made to achieve a good geographical spread through the appraisal and approvals process. County Longford has already received significant grant assistance under the equal opportunities childcare programme with 25 capital grants to establish either new or quality enhanced community based not-for-profit or private child care facilities. The county has also benefited from 20 staffing grants to community groups which have a focus on disadvantage. This funding to child care providers is leading to the creation of 621 new child care places and to the support of 359 existing places.

The county child care committee also receives annual funding to support its developmental work. The Minister understands from the review that the levels of support going to County Longford under the equal opportunities childcare programme compare very positively with other counties in the Border, midlands and western region.

Apart from looking at the funding amounts to be made available for capital, the review has also been looking at approvals to date in each county in the context of existing services. It has reviewed the types of service which are being supported to ensure there is a good mix of full-time and sessional services serving the full range of age groups, particularly children under two. It may be that a review of a county as a whole may mask unmet need in a local area and this has also been considered and addressed during the review process.

The review has also led to a thorough appraisal of all capital applications to determine those which best address the aims of the programme and which, therefore, will be accorded the highest priority for funding in the short term. The programme guidelines lay out the criteria against which capital grant applications are appraised, the socio-economic and demographic profile of the area, the quality of the proposal, the capacity of the applicant group to implement the project, the level of integration and co-ordination with existing services to avoid duplication and value for money. These are the criteria which are being used to evaluate each project which seeks funding.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform tells me that he intends to allocate the remaining capital funding under this strand of the Government's commitment to child care to address the most immediate service gaps. As a result, all the projects in the pipeline on 30 April 2004 have been reviewed again by ADM Limited on the basis of geographical need, the range of services being offered, value for money and the capacity of the groups to complete a project before the end of the programme in 2007. Those projects which best meet the criteria will receive priority funding from the capital funding which remains unallocated at this point.

The Minister understands that the final recommendations to him regarding the allocation of the remaining funding are currently in preparation. If a project is recommended for funding as part of this process, its recommendation will be conditional upon its being able to establish that it can be completed within a fixed budget and a tight timeframe. If a project is not recommended for priority funding at this time, it will be considered again should additional capital resources become available. The allocation of any additional funding which might become available to the Minister will also be allocated on the basis of local need, levels of service being offered and value for money.

The Minister is very much aware of his Government's commitment to increase the supply of child care places in Ireland to enable parents to engage in employment, education and training. The contribution that a quality child care facility can make to the lives of parents and children is well documented.

The availability of child care directly supports the economy in that it enables parents to work, safe in the knowledge that their children are being cared for in appropriate settings. The Irish labour force is expected to increase to nearly 2 million by the end of the decade and, therefore, sustained growth in the numbers who remain active in the labour market is vital for economic development.

The Minister is also aware that the support of family participation in the labour market is recognised as a key contributor to the equalisation of opportunities and as a measure to foster social inclusion. Training and education will enhance the labour market opportunities of unemployed parents. Again, enhanced economic circumstances have been shown to enhance educational performance among children. Thus the provision of child care is an essential support for many reasons. This is why it receives generous EU support as Irish child care facilities are developed to address the new needs of Irish parents and to move towards the range of services which are already developed in our European neighbouring states. Thus, the provision of child care supports the twin aims of Government, namely, the promotion of economic development and the promotion of social inclusion. For this reason, the Minister is very actively involved in the review of the capital programme for child care development which he is treating as a high priority. The Minister does not doubt but that the success of the present strand of the programme and the need to continue to make child care available to support the child care needs of our still growing workforce will support his case for ongoing capital and current funding from Government for this key sector. Indeed, should any additional funding become available before the end of the present national development plan, he would expect that the equal opportunities childcare programme would again benefit from transfers.

The programme has a focus on many quality issues which were identified in the national child care strategy which was drawn up by an expert working group on child care chaired by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in the context of Partnership 2000. The EOCP is implementing the supply side recommendations of the expert working group, which strongly advocated the provision of significant State support for child care. The equal opportunities childcare programme is the response of the Government and the EU to the need to develop a child care infrastructure to support parents in Ireland and, with an annual commitment of some €68 million, the Minister is confident that Senator Bannon will acknowledge there has been welcome progress in the creation of a good child care service, particularly in County Longford.

James Bannon (Fine Gael)
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Would the Minister agree to meet a small deputation from the three child care committees to which I referred? This would be very helpful in opening up links with the groups and in allowing the Minister to see the wonderful work done by the groups, the manner in which they have put their project together and the need for child care services in the areas outlined.

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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As I am not the Minister with responsibility in this area I cannot give the Senator a direct answer. However, I will advise the Minister of the Senator's wish in this regard.