Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 423: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when a decision will be made on an application for a community-based pre-school, details supplied, in County Tipperary. [23351/04]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I understand from inquiries I have made that, to date, no application for additional grant assistance under the equal opportunities childcare programme 2000-06 can be traced from this group.

I would like to advise the Deputy that the group in question received grant assistance towards their staffing costs amounting to a total of €36,000 over three years. Should a further application for grant assistance be received, it will undergo a thorough assessment and appraisal to ensure it meets the criteria of the programme. On completion of the assessment process, it will be considered by the programme appraisal committee, chaired by my Department, for a funding recommendation before I make a final decision on the application.

It would only be fair to point out, however, that there has been a high level of demand for capital grant assistance under the present strand of the programme. As a result, any capital application received at this stage might well have to await a further stream of funding unless it can clearly show that it is addressing a significant gap in service availability.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 424: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when a decision will be made on an application for a capital grant for child care facilities, details supplied, in County Tipperary. [23352/04]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I understand from enquiries I have made that an application from this group for a substantial capital grant of over €1.3 million was submitted in January 2004.

The equal opportunities child care programme 2000-06 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 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 and, following the mid-term review, additional funding of approximately €12 million was made available for the child care measures. This brings the total funding available for the programme to €449.3 million.

There has been considerable demand from community-based groups for capital grant assistance under the programme and every county has benefited significantly from grants to provide new and enhanced community-based child care facilities and, indeed, to support capital developments in the private child care sector. Area Development Management Limited, on behalf of my Department, 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 and, 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 that the programme can meet its financial commitments at all times.

In addition, my Department has recently reviewed the different budget lines under the EOCP, including the capital programme, to ensure that the most effective use is made of all remaining funding in accordance with the programme's objectives. This has brought to €157 million the total allocation for the capital development of child care under the present programme. At the same time, an extensive review of child care 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 exceeds €30 million. Some €25 million of this is being earmarked for community-based not-for-profit childcare groups which provide services for young children in order to support their parents who may be in employment, education and training.

I intend 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 Area Development Management 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.

I have made inquiries and I understand that the application for capital grant assistance in respect of this project has been reviewed as part of the review process I have just referred to. I understand that the recommendations with regard to 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 me will also be allocated on the basis of local need, levels of service being offered and value for money.

I do 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 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.

In the interim, it would be premature of me to comment further on this capital grant application.