Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 242: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when grants will be announced for child care and crèche facilities. [12624/04]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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When the equal opportunities childcare programme 2000-2006 was initially launched, it was envisaged that grant applications would be announced on a quarterly basis, to tie in with the anticipated timeframe to process the project applications. However, practice revealed that some applications required extensive consultation before a recommendation could be made while others were complete in their information and could be processed more quickly.

As a result, the programme appraisal committee, chaired by my Department, agreed to hold more frequent meetings to ensure that projects would have a timely decision to enable them to proceed at the earliest possible date. Consequently, the programme appraisal committee has met almost monthly since the programme commenced. Following the deliberations of the programme appraisal committee, I make decisions and ADM Limited enters into a final stage of consultation with the project promoter with a view to concluding a formal contract.

The equal opportunities childcare programme 2000-2006 is a seven year development programme. The progress of the programme was commented upon very favourably by the mid-term evaluators of both the regional operational programmes and the National Development Plan 2000-2006. Expenditure under the programme must take place in a planned manner and covers the period to end 2007. Accordingly, grant approvals must take place in a carefully planned manner to ensure that the programme can meet its financial commitments at all times.

I would advise the Deputy that there has been considerable demand from community based groups for capital grant assistance under the programme and every county has benefited from significant grant commitments to provide new and enhanced community based childcare facilities. ADM on behalf of my Department is currently carrying out an extensive review of the programme's capital commitments to date to ensure that those grant commitments previously entered into will in fact be realised by the groups on the ground. The Deputy will appreciate that over 1,100 capital grants have been allocated already totalling over €114 million. Many of these projects are either awaiting planning permission or the completion of tender processes before reasonable assurance can be taken that they will proceed. In the event that a project does not proceed, the funding can be decommitted and made available to another project.

The Department has recently reviewed the different budget lines under the EOCP in general and the capital programme in particular to ensure that the most effective use is made of all remaining funding including the capital measure in accordance with the objectives of the programme. This will involve some transfers between measures and the approval of the regional assemblies is needed. I expect that this technical process will be completed shortly and that it will bring to about €157 million the total allocation for the capital development of childcare under the present equal opportunities childcare programme. This amount includes an element for the administration by ADM Limited of the capital programme.

At the same time, an extensive review of childcare provision on the ground has taken place to identify obvious service gaps, the filling of which will be a priority using the remaining capital funding which currently amounts to about €35 million. The careful analysis of this information is essential if the best use is to be made of the significant capital funding being provided by the Government to support the childcare needs of parents who may be in employment, education or training.

The Deputy will appreciate that all counties have benefited from new projects and additional childcare places under the programme. I intend to use the remaining capital funding under this strand of child care development to address the most immediate service gaps. As a result, all the projects in the pipeline will be reviewed to ensure that those projects which best meet the programme criteria and which can be completed by the end of the present programme will receive priority. The ability to bring a project to fruition before the end of the present programme is an important criterion at this stage as I am aware that it can frequently take time to complete a project and there are constraints to ensure that we maximise our EU funding.

I do not doubt but that the success of the present strand of the EOCP and the need to continue to make child care available to support the child care needs of our still growing work force will support my 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, I would expect that the programme would again benefit from transfers.