Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 67: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on whether community and child care facilities will require funding on a continuous basis, in view of his recent announcement to extend staffing grants to December 2007. [16195/05]

Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will commence a process of consultation with community child care providers to ensure that a plan is in place well in advance of the December 2007 deadline when the current round of funding will run out. [16194/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 68 together.

The Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, EOCP, 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 is under constant evaluation as a result of which its funding has increased on a number of occasions since 2000, bringing the original funding package of €318 million up to the present package of €499 million for the period to the end of the NDP, with an ongoing commitment for capital investment to 2009.

I plan to commission a thorough evaluation of the present programme and its outcomes to date in the near future in order to inform our deliberations on the need for ongoing supports for the child care sector in the post NDP scenario.

Since December 2004, I have announced a record allocation of some €67 million in capital funding to community based-not for profit groups. I hope to make further significant capital allocations in the remainder of 2005 and thereafter. The Deputy may be aware that I have already approved the continuation of the existing levels of staffing grant assistance until 31 August 2005 for those groups whose first three years of funding had elapsed and who showed, following a short reassessment, that they were continuing to deliver child care services in accordance with agreed targets.

As the Deputy is aware, I am now extending to the end of December 2007 the terms of the existing staffing grants to groups who continue to deliver a child care service in accordance with their pre-agreed targets. To benefit from such funding the groups must continue to pay particular attention to the support of disadvantaged families and the implementation of a fee structure tailored to the differing economic circumstances of the client group and which ensures that child care places subsidised by the EOCP are targeted towards those most in need.

The 2000-06 programme contains a number of targets, most notably to increase the supply of centre based child care places, and as a result more than 36,000 new places will come on stream, including 24,600 already in place. Any follow on programme will again target need and will build upon the achievements of the present programme.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the recent report of the Forum on the Workplace of the Future which found that child care costs here were among the highest in Europe and were keeping large numbers of women out of the workforce; the steps he intends to take to address this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16164/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am aware of the recent report of the Forum on the Workplace of the Future which made this finding. I would, however, draw the Deputy's attention to data on the participation of women in the labour market published by the Central Statistics Office. The March 2005 issue of the quarterly national household survey shows a female labour force participation rate of 50.8% in the final quarter of 2004. This represents a significant increase on the 1997 female participation rate which was 45.8%. In absolute terms, the number of women workers has increased from 587,000 in 1997, to 801,700 in the last quarter of 2004, an increase of 36.8%.

Also noteworthy is the significant increase in part-time employment among women. In the period 1997 to end-2004, the numbers of women working part-time grew from 182,100 to 251,900, an increase of 38.3%. Again, it is noteworthy that while 13,000 part-time female workers deemed themselves to be underemployed in 1997, only 1,900 so deemed themselves in 2004. This suggests that many women prefer part-time to full-time employment, as a way of achieving a good work-life balance.

This evidence is not offered to underplay the important role that child care plays in supporting working parents and especially working mothers. This Government has worked actively over the past seven years to increase investment in child care in Ireland from a benchmark of approximately €1 million per annum in the mid 1990s to almost €500 million for the seven year Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006, EOCP, which is increasing the supply of child care places and making available child care places at reduced cost for disadvantaged parents through the provision of staffing grant assistance to community based not for profit child care groups which support disadvantaged parents.

Since its inception in 2000, the funding for the programme has increased from €318 million to €499.3 million or by 57%, the most recent increase being €50 million in budget 2005. The EOCP is implementing the national child care strategy and aimed to increase the supply of centre-based child care places by 55%, some 31,372 places, by programme end. However, I am pleased to report that total funding committed under the EOCP to date is projected to create some 36,000 new child care places, increasing the choice of centre-based child care available to parents across Ireland. By the end of December 2004, some 24,600 of the new child care places were already in place as a result of the EOCP expenditure to date. In addition, over 30,200 existing places have received capital or are receiving ongoing current support under the programme.

The EOCP also aims to provide support and assistance to the many childminders who are providing a child care service across the country, as a childminder is the chosen child care option of many parents. The programme also encompasses many other quality initiatives which were identified in the child care strategy, and aims to ensure that there is co-ordination in the delivery of child care services nationwide. The measures outlined relate to the supply of quality child care, but I would also draw the Deputy's attention to Government policy in the area of child benefit which assists all the parents of Ireland in the care of their children. Child benefit is the main fiscal instrument through which support is provided to parents with dependent children.

In the 2005 budget, child benefit was increased by €10 to €141.60 per month, per child, for the first two children and by €12 to €177.30 per month for the third and each subsequent child, from April 2005. Effectively since 1997, child benefit has almost quadrupled. This clearly indicates the Government's commitment to assisting all parents in relation to the care of their children irrespective of income and employment status. It is noteworthy that the cost of child benefit now exceeds €1.9 billion per year.

I am very pleased to read the CSO figures on the increase in female labour force participation as this is a key aim of the funding provided through the equal opportunities childcare programme and I know that the success of the programme contributes to the ongoing success of our economy. This Government remains firmly committed to supporting working parents with their child care needs through increased child care provision in terms of capacity, choice and service quality.