Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 312: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the measures she is taking to ensure the provision of affordable child care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35387/06]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has brought in a number of measures, both on the supply side and the demand side, to deal with the growing demand for child care, which has been created by the economic and social changes which have taken place over the last decade. These measures are aimed at supporting parents with the cost of child care and increasing the supply of quality child care places available to parents.

The primary supply side measure of the Government's approach to ensuring the provision of affordable child care has been to stimulate the provision of quality child care places, through the provision of grants for the child care sector. This is being done through the equal opportunities child care programme, EOCP, 2000-2006 and the national child care investment programme, NCIP, 2006-2010. These programmes, with a combined budget of over €1 billion, are projected to create or support over 90,000 child care places, with some 29,000 of the new places already in place. These places are provided either through community based/not for profit child care groups or by private providers. Of the total funding committed in the period from the start of the EOCP to August 2006, over €67 million has been allocated to quality improvement and over €484 million to child care facilities, of which almost €183 million has been allocated to staffing grant assistance. This provides support towards the staffing costs of employing child care workers in community based child care centres in disadvantaged areas, ensuring that less advantaged parents in those areas have increased access to quality child care and that they are charged fees which are less than the economic cost of providing the service.

On the demand side, government policy to support parents with the cost of child care has been to increase child benefit payments and introduce the early child care supplement, ECS. Both instruments support all parents irrespective of income or employment status. Child benefit has been increased in successive budgets and in Budget 2006, it was increased by €8.40 per month for the first two children to €150 per month; and by €7.70 per month for the third and subsequent children to €185 per month. This means that over the period since 1997 child benefit has more than quadrupled.

The early child care supplement of €1,000 per annum was introduced for all children less than six years of age and became effective in April 2006. This is a direct, non-taxable payment of €250 per quarter year, in respect of each eligible child. There have already been two payments of the ECS in August and October, and I expect the final payment of €250 to be paid on 11 December. From 2007 the payments will be made in April, July, October and December. Taken together these payments mean that a family with two children under the age of six years are now in receipt of a direct payment per annum of €5,800.

The levels of increase in child benefit and the introduction of the early child care supplement is unprecedented and delivers on the Government's objective of providing support for children generally while offering real choice to all parents in relation to the care of their children. I am satisfied that the EOCP and NCIP will serve to moderate prices in the sector over time by increasing the supply of places and giving parents greater choice. This Government's record in providing enhanced child care supports is without parallel and I am confident that we are moving rapidly to ensure that there are quality services available to parents throughout the country.