Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in view of the plans for further child care services in the five social inclusion task forces in Dublin, he will consider increasing the funding allocated to a group (details supplied) from €440,000 to €695,000 as requested. [8013/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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My Department is responsible for the co-ordination of child care service delivery during the period of the National Development Plan 2000-2006. My Department established the equal opportunities child care programme in April 2000 to increase the number of child care facilities and places in Ireland, to improve the quality of child care services available and to put new structures in place for the co-ordination of activity in the development of child care. The total funding allocated to my Department for these purposes during the lifetime of the 2000-2006 programme has been increased to €499.3 million since budget 2005.

Dublin city child care committee is one of the 33 city and county child care committees established as part of the quality measure under the equal opportunities child care programme, and has received €1.55 million in programme funding since the start of the programme. Funding provision for the committees has increased significantly since the start of the programme, and almost €7.6 million has been made available for the implementation of the action plans drawn up by the committees in 2005. This has been supplemented by €965,000 for a range of actions to support childminding.

The original indicative budget for Dublin city child care committee was €318,500 per annum. Following a review of the provisions for the committees in September 2004, the maximum level of the indicative budget for each committee was increased by 8% for 2005. I have also provisionally set aside a further increase of 2.5% for 2006 and a further 2.5% for 2007 for the implementation of the action plan of each committee, including Dublin city child care committee. This has been supplemented by funding provided in respect of the child care bureau of €100,000, making total annual funding of €444,000 available to Dublin city child care committee, excluding childminders' initiatives. I understand that Dublin city child care committee sought a review of this decision and officials in my Department are assessing this request. Pending this review, it would be premature of me to comment further on the matter at this time.