Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 260: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when the application for capital funding in respect of an organisation (details supplied) in County Westmeath will be expedited; if he is satisfied that the information furnished to date is adequate to enable him to make a decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14634/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The group in question has already been awarded staffing grant assistance of €195,000 under the EOCP to date for its existing service. An application for capital grant assistance under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006 was submitted by this group to my Department some time ago.

The level of demand for capital grant assistance was such that I considered it important to increase the capital provision for the present programme. Following discussions with my colleague the Minister for Finance, an additional capital provision of €90 million was made available over the period 2005 to 2009, in the context of the 2005 budget. This brings the total funding available for the programme to €499.3 million and now includes an increased provision for capital developments, for which €205 million has been set aside. Since the budget of 2005, I have announced a record allocation totalling some €66 million in capital funding to community based not for profit groups in two tranches, one in December 2004 and another on 4 March 2005.

The availability of the additional capital funding enables me to make capital grant assistance available to groups which can show that they address significant child care service gaps and where the project proposal represents good value for money when considered under the current guidelines on building costs. In the light of this, the group in question was advised in December 2004 that while its project had not been prioritised for immediate funding at that stage, it will be reconsidered for possible support in the future.

When the assessment on the project in question is completed, the application will then be considered by the EOCP appraisal committee, chaired by my Department, before I make a final decision and the group will be informed of the outcome in due course. In the interim, it would be premature of me to comment further on this application.