Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 179: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her plans regarding the reducing of the level of child care subvention available to parents on social welfare after a set defined period has expired; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45071/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I have responsibility for implementing the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010 (NCIP) under which the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) scheme is funded. Under the CCS, funding is provided to participating community childcare services to enable them to charge reduced childcare fees to disadvantaged parents and low income parents. Parents in receipt of a social welfare payment will qualify for subvention funding for all of the period that he or she is in receipt of that payment and there are no plans at present to limit this payment by reference to a defined period of time.

Where a parent in receipt of a social welfare payment obtains employment, the level of subvention funding is maintained until the end of the reference period, normally an annual period from September to August. In addition, such a parent would be expected to qualify for a reduced rate of subvention funding in the following year.