Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 425: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of child care places that have been created by his Department in each of the past five years under the equal opportunities programme; the number of child care centres that have been created in each of the past five years; the number of staff that have been recruited under the programme in each of the past five years; the amount that has been allocated by his Department under the programme in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8637/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006 is a central pillar in the Government's child care strategy and is intended to increase the availability and quality of child care supports for parents in employment, education or training. The programme is funded by the Exchequer and the European Union Structural funds as part of the regional operational programmes of the national development plan. The programme provides for capital grants to create and enhance new or existing child care facilities, multi-annual staffing grants to community-based not-for-profit groups which provide child care services for disadvantaged families and a range of grants to support the enhancement of quality for the child care sector.

Considerable progress has already been achieved in terms of increasing the number of child care facilities and places available, as well as increasing the number of people employed directly in child care facilities and the programme is now ahead of and will exceed its targets.

I understand that the data relating to the programme are not readily available on an annual basis as requested by the Deputy due to the roll-over ongoing nature of the programme which is a seven year strategy. However, I have been informed that provisional figures to the end of 2004 indicate that 477 new facilities have been created, that 24,636 child care places have already been created in new and existing child care facilities. This is in addition to the 21,000 existing places also receiving staffing grant support under the programme, and that 2,213 child care staff, working directly with children in disadvantaged areas, have been supported under the programme. Grant approvals to date will, when fully drawn down, lead to the creation of over 36,000 new centre based child care places, or an additional 11,500 new places while the additional funding provided in the 2005 budget will lead to a further significant increase in the availability of centre based child care at local level.

The following table details the outturn for the child care measures of my Department for the five year period between 2000 to 2004:

The Deputy will welcome the increase in the allocation for child care to my Department for 2005 which amounts to €83.432 million.

The programme also supports a number of quality improvement initiatives, most notably the funding provided to seven national voluntary child care organisations and 33 city and county child care committees, which is aimed at creating local networks of child care providers and supporting improved training for child care workers.

It may interest the Deputy to know that since it was launched in 2000, that funding for the programme for the 2000-06 period has increased from €318 million to €499.3 million or by 57%, the most recent increase being an additional €50 million announced in budget 2005 under the capital investment framework to 2007. A further €40 million in additional funding for the period from the end of the national development plan to 2009 was also included in the budget 2005 announcement.