Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 202: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the discontinuation of staffing grants to community child care services is significantly increasing the cost of services to many unsubvented parents who can ill afford to pay the costs required for the delivery of regulated services. [28993/08]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that many community child care services that have been funded through the equal opportunities child care programme are struggling to remain sustainable. [28994/08]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 206: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the community child care groups which have closed or are planning to close due to changes in their funding resulting from the replacement of the old equal opportunities child care programme staffing grant system with the community child care subvention scheme. [28997/08]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 207: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the community child care groups which have reduced staffing levels or are planning to reduce staffing levels due to changes in their funding resulting from the replacement of the old equal opportunities child care programme staffing grant system with the community child care subvention scheme. [28998/08]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 208: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the number of community child care groups who will receive less funding for the second half of 2008 under the community child care subvention scheme than they did in the first half of 2008 under the old equal opportunities child care programme staffing grant system. [28999/08]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 202, 203 and 206 to 208, inclusive, together.

As the Deputy will be aware, I have responsibility for the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-10 (NCIP) under which the Community Child Care Subvention Scheme was introduced in January of this year. The scheme replaced the previous staffing support grant scheme which was implemented under the EU co-funded Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-06 (EOCP) and which ended in December 2007. In providing for the new scheme and the previous EOCP support scheme, Government child care policy has recognised the need to target additional supports towards disadvantaged families in addition to the main supports which are made available to parents to assist them with their child care costs — child benefit and the early child care supplement. The latter payment is the responsibility of my office. It is expected to involve expenditure of some €500 million in 2008. These payments are universal and benefit all parents, regardless of their income, labour market status or the type of child care they choose.

The Community Childcare Subvention Scheme has an allocation of €154.2 million over 2008-10 and will continue to support and ensure the sustainability of community-based child care services which provide reduced child care fees for disadvantaged parents. This compares favourably with the €37 million the EOCP staffing grant scheme cost in 2007. Community-based child care services will qualify for grant aid on the basis of the level of service they provide and the profile of the parents benefiting from the service. The parent profile of each service and the amount of subvention it receives are determined on the basis of completed parent declaration forms which they return as part of the application process. The subvention received by services is, in turn, reflected in a tiered fee system under which reduced fees are charged to parents who qualify as disadvantaged under the scheme.

While this constitutes a significant increase in total grant aid, the targeting of support towards specific parents, as opposed to general grants made to services in respect of self-reported profiles, was always expected to result in some services, which had a weaker focus on disadvantage than reported, facing a reduction in funding, particularly if they had not implemented tiered fees as required under the previous scheme. The review of the scheme, based on the data returned by services last November, saw the introduction of guaranteed floors below which funding would not fall, provided the level of service was not reduced. This means that, where a service has very low levels of subvention due to its parents being middle and higher income, they would receive a top-up to 90% of their existing funding in the second half of this year, to 85% in 2009, and to 75% in 2010. The purpose of this was to allow services to introduce on an incremental basis tiered fees to make their services accessible to disadvantaged parents, as they had been required under the EOCP staffing scheme. In reality, it is expected that in 2009, most services will not require this top up funding as they will be more affordable to lower income families and their subvention levels will have increased. It might be remembered, however, that the effect of this is cost-neutral to the service as, whatever the eligibility of the parent, the fee charged plus the subvention (where applicable) is equal to the cost price of the child care place.

I am informed that some 46% of services are in receipt of 90% funding in July-December, with a further 7% in receipt of between 90.1% and 100%. On average, services are in receipt of 119% of their allocation in the period January to June and, overall, there is a significant increase, with some services more than doubling their grant aid. No service is facing a significant decrease in State funding. The review of the scheme also announced that the subvention for Band A parents has been increased to €100 weekly for each full-time equivalent place, and the Band B subvention increased to €70. Furthermore, each service has been given a tranche of funding to allow them to subvent low income parents above the FIS threshold, by €45. Given this funding will allow them to offer this reduction to parents who hold GP Visit cards, and given that the thresholds for these take account of mortgage, child care and commuting costs, I think most people would agree that those who fall outside those categories are not lower income and many middle-income parents will qualify for that subvention. Similarly, all parents in services with a top up payment are in receipt of a subsidy, which in some instances is very significant.

These services have the benefit of higher capital grant aid than private services. This is reflected in their cost price, which they charge to non-subvented parents. I am informed that, of the fees policies approved by my office to date, the average price for an full-time equivalent place under the scheme ranges from €43 to €143, depending on the band of the parent. This varies significantly, depending on the cost structure of the service, but is clearly below the commercial rate for child care. To further subsidise the rate for upper income parents in this sector would not be an equitable policy. Given these facts, there is no reason the sector should face issues regarding sustainability as a result of the new scheme. I am aware of a service whose manager took to the national airwaves to announce it was closing because of the introduction of the scheme. However, I can state that the situation is not as presented. The grant funding for the service has not, as was stated, been reduced by over €80,000, from €95,000 to €16,000. The true position is that the proposed grant funding for this service in July/December 2008, based on its level of qualifying parents, was due to reduce from €18,300 to €16,470. The manager of the service had been in contact with my officials days earlier indicating her satisfaction with the new funding arrangements and made no mention of any intention to close. My office is working with the local community sector and the county child care committee, as a matter of urgency, to try to ensure that another community service can take over the operation of the service and its proposed grant funding. As the level of support being given to existing services has increased and the number of services in the scheme has increased I am satisfied that the new scheme will prove an important step in the development of child care in Ireland.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 204: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the number of parents who would be eligible for the community child care subvention scheme but cannot access subvention as they do not have access to a community child care service. [28995/08]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I have responsibility for the National Child Care Investment Programme 2006-10 (NCIP) under which the Community Child Care Subvention Scheme was introduced in January of this year. The scheme replaced the previous staffing support grant scheme which was implemented under the EU co-funded Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-06 (EOCP) and which ended in December 2007. In providing for the new scheme and the previous EOCP support scheme, Government child care policy has recognised the need to target additional supports towards disadvantaged families in addition to the main supports which are made available to parents to assist them with their child care costs — child benefit and the early child care supplement. The latter payment is the responsibility of my office. It is expected to involve expenditure of some €500 million in 2008. These payments are universal and benefit all parents, regardless of their income, labour market status or the type of child care they choose.

The community child care subvention scheme has an allocation of €154.2 million over 2008-10 and will continue to support and ensure the sustainability of community-based child care services which provide reduced child care fees for disadvantaged parents. community-based child care services will qualify for grant aid on the basis of the level of service they provide and the profile of the parents benefiting from their service. The parent profile of each service, and the amount of subvention it will receive, are determined on the basis of completed parent declaration forms which they return as part of the application process. The subvention received by services is, in turn, reflected in a tiered fee system under which reduced fees are charged to parents who qualify as disadvantaged under the scheme. As the parent declaration forms are completed on an annual basis, the level of funding which is approved for each service is established on an annual basis. Transitional arrangements have been put in place to facilitate services which were funded under the previous EOCP support scheme to adjust to the new arrangements. As a result, these services will receive not less than 95% of their previous level of funding in 2008. The CCSS also recognises that in some cases, particularly in rural areas or on the islands, community child care services may operate with a small or fluctuating number of children, in which case a minimum annual grant level of €20,000 can be awarded.

The CCSS provides an effective framework for the continued targeting of additional resources towards disadvantaged parents and their children while continuing to support community-based child care services generally. I am satisfied that it will be effective in delivering the NCIP objectives of supporting families to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage. It will provide a framework which can accommodate any future child care related initiatives which may be introduced. The scheme is responsive to the level of service provided as well as the degree of parental disadvantage and the ceiling for funding which existed under the previous scheme has been removed. Account is taken of all of the operational costs of the service rather than staffing costs alone. The changes which have been introduced will ensure that the most affordable child care is available to families according to their means. Put simply, the tiered fee structure is the most effective way of ensuring that the considerable and ongoing Government support for the community child care sector, will be targeted at those who need it most.

I am also pleased to advise the Deputy that the child care directorate of my office has notified services of their individual grant levels for July-December 2008 and that the total amount of grant assistance under the new scheme will be significantly higher than was the case under the previous scheme. I am confident that the community child care subvention scheme is a fair and equitable way of supporting community child care operators in the provision of an affordable and high quality service to parents. Given the low level of community child care provision in Ireland prior to 2000, the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-06 prioritised funding based on applications received and where it was considered that there was a clear need for child care places and the applicants could provide sustainable and affordable services. The National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-10 (NCIP) is continuing to target the available funding for child care in this way and as a result of this prioritisation, approximately 80% of grant funding under both programmes to date has been to the community, not for profit, sector. It is open to areas which do not have community child care services to apply under the NCIP. Further tranches of community applicants are expected to be approved under the programme.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 205: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the formula for the way the level of community child care subvention scheme is being calculated for each local community child care group. [28996/08]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I have responsibility for the National Child Care Investment Programme 2006-10 (NCIP) under which the Community Child Care Subvention Scheme was introduced in January of this year. The scheme replaced the previous staffing support grant scheme which was implemented under the EU co-funded Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-06 (EOCP) and which ended in December 2007. The Community Child Care Subvention Scheme has an allocation of €154.2 million over 2008-10 and will continue to support and ensure the sustainability of community-based child care services which provide reduced childcare fees for disadvantaged parents. Community-based childcare services will qualify for grant aid on the basis of the level of service they provide and the profile of the parents benefiting from their service. The parent profile of each service, and the amount of subvention it will receive, are determined on the basis of completed parent declaration forms which they return as part of the application process. The subvention received by services is, in turn, reflected in a tiered fee system under which reduced fees are charged to parents who qualify as disadvantaged under the scheme. As the parent declaration forms are completed on an annual basis, the level of funding which is approved for each service is established on an annual basis.

Each service made a return last November in respect of their children. The subventions were based on these returns, with band A parents attracting €100 per week for each full-time equivalent, and band B parents attracting €70 per week. A further tranche of funding was provided for parents somewhat above the family income supplement threshold, and this was calculated based on the profile of parents outside bands A and B with each service getting €45 per full-time equivalent for such parents who declared that they held a medical card or GP visit card. Where a service did not declare any parent holding a medical card or GP visit card, one such allowance i.e.a total of €1,170, was included in the grant amount. Finally, a supplement of €30 per full-time equivalent was added for infants under one year in the case of children of qualifying parents in that age category on the date of the return. Where the total amount would be less than 90% of a service's pre-existing funding level, or where the minimum grant level under the scheme of €20,000 applied, services were given a further top-up of funding to bring them to the relevant threshold guaranteed under the scheme i.e. either 90% of the pre-existing funding level or €20,000.