Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 594: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of children under the age of five in each of the county child care committee areas; the budget allocated to each county committee under the equal opportunities child care programme to date. [22259/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000 — 2006, EOCP, was established as an element of the National Development Plan 2000-2006 to increase the supply of child care places through capital grant assistance to create new and quality enhanced childcare places, to support the child care needs of parents in employment, education and training through the provision of capital grant assistance; to make grant support available towards the staffing costs of child care services in very disadvantaged areas; to enable the services to make child care available at less than full fees for parents experiencing disadvantage; and to enhance the quality and co-ordination of delivery of child care in Ireland.

The programme funding has been increased in a series of steps from €318 million originally allocated to the present funding package of €499 million and the Government has already committed to continue to fund child care development in the post-2006 period.

The programme has already created more than 24,600 new child care places and a further 15,300 will be brought to completion with funding already committed under the programme.

The 33 city-county child care committees were established, and are resourced, under the EOCP, with a total allocation of about €7.6 million for all 33 in 2005 to meet the core activities which are pre-agreed with the Department and which must link in with the five year locally focused child care strategy developed by each county. The committees receive additional funding for new initiatives such as the development of childminding and the work which they will shortly undertake to enhance the supply of school age child care. In addition to their work on the delivery of their child care strategies, the county committees also review all applications made for grant assistance under the EOCP and advise on local child care needs.

The following tables detail funding allocated to city and county child care committees under the EOCP. It does not include the additional funding to be made available for the development of school age child care.