Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 250: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason for her refusal despite repeated requests to meet with groups (details supplied) regarding the community child care subvention scheme. [42422/08]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 251: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason she or her Minister of State will not, despite repeated requests to do so, meet with groups (details supplied) regarding the community child care subvention scheme. [42423/08]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 251 together.

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 am aware of the recently published report commissioned by the Dublin Inner city Partnership and the Dublin Inner City Childcare Providers' Network regarding the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) which was introduced by my Office in January 2008. As acknowledged in the report, the initial findings of the research were made available to my Office and, to assist the groups in finalising the report, I understand that my officials provided various clarifications as well as updated data in regard to the scheme.

I have been active in meeting many childcare service providers, both from the community and commercial sectors. I am satisfied that the position in relation to the implementation of the CCSS has been fully communicated to the Group in question and that there is nothing further which can be added at this point in time. I am aware that concerns regarding the Scheme continue to be expressed by some community childcare services while at the same time many commercial providers who are outside the scope of the Scheme, and many parents who do not have access to a community based service, would like to see the CCSS extended across the sector. However, as a targeted scheme for disadvantaged and low income parents, the Scheme will continue to be confined to supporting community-based services.

The CCSS is a more transparent scheme than the support scheme previously in place for community-based childcare services and the support funding is linked more directly to qualifying parents. As a result, it is necessary for services participating in the Scheme to implement fees policies which reflect the various fee reductions available to qualifying parents, that is parents who are disadvantaged or on low incomes. In effect, grant funding is provided to a service to make up the difference, in the case of qualifying parents, between the cost of a childcare place and the fee which the service must charge to meet that cost.

In many cases, community services had not been charging the economic cost of their service. As a result, many parents who would not have been considered disadvantaged or low income for the purposes of the support funding would also have benefited significantly. In some cases, failure to charge the economic cost led to services operating at a deficit. The CCSS will assist services to operate on a clearer financial footing, balancing their expenditure with income. Given the substantial level of State funding which many are in receipt of, this would be an expected requirement.