Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 726: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the capital grant aid provided each year for each of the past five years to provide child care facilities; and the number of places funded by these moneys in each county. [10622/05]

Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 727: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the amount of grant aid provided each year for each of the past five years to pay for staffing costs for child care provision; and the number of such staff funded in each county. [10623/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 726 and 727 together.

The Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006, EOCP, 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, multiannual staffing grants to community-based not-for-profit groups who 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 the data relating to the programme is 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 24,636 child care places have already been created in new and existing child care facilities, 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.

I also bring to the Deputy's attention a comprehensive review of progress under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000 — 2006 entitled Developing Childcare In Ireland which was published by my Department during the summer of 2004. This document was circulated to all members of the Oireachtas and was also posted on the Department's web site. A wealth of useful information on the development of child care, up to the end of 2003, is included in this report. It is intended in future to update these statistics periodically. The first such update, which will cover the period up to end of 2004, is expected to become available over the summer of 2005 and will be posted on the Department's web site as well as being circulated to interested parties, including members of the Oireachtas.

The table details the outturn for capital and current expenditure for the child care measures of my Department for the five year period between 2000 to 2004 and the estimate for 2005:

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, 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 the 2005 budget 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 announcement.