Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 255: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the status of an application by a organisation (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38180/08]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I have responsibility for the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006 — 2010 (NCIP), which will invest €575 million over 5 years, with €358 million of this in capital grant aid for childcare services.

I understand that the service in question applied for €100,000 in capital funding under the NCIP, through its local County Childcare Committee (CCC). As the Deputy may be aware, capital grant applications under the NCIP are assessed, in the first instance, by the County Childcare Committees and are prioritised on the basis of local childcare need. In 2008, each Committee was given an indicative capital budget and was asked to prioritise applications on this basis. In some cases, including the project in question, additional applications in excess of the indicative budgets were prioritised on the basis that some additional scope for approvals might arise in 2008. However, as this is not the case, the application in question cannot be finally assessed at this point. I understand that a further round of capital applications is expected to be assessed in 2009 and the County Childcare Committees may wish to re-prioritise this application at that time.