John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 538: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of money allocated to the child care facility at a centre (details supplied); the number of staff suported by the project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15909/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP) 2000-2006 and the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP) 2006-2010, have been implemented by the Childcare Directorate which is now part of my Department. St. Canice's Community Action Ltd./The Learning Tree Childcare Centre, which is located in the Fr McGrath Centre, has been supported under both EOCP and NCIP initiatives.

Under the EOCP the service was approved a total of €428,440 in capital grant funding for the development of its childcare facility. An EOCP staffing grant approved for the service from May 2001 and amounted to €661,987. In January 2008, with the conclusion of the EOCP, the staffing grant scheme was replaced by the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) under the NCIP.

Under the CCSS, community services were required to make an annual return to the Childcare Directorate which recorded the actual level of disadvantage among parents using the service and the level of service being used. The funding provided to services was passed on to qualifying parents in the form of reduced childcare fees. To assist services to adapt to the new funding arrangements, transitional arrangements were put in place which guaranteed minimum payments, at gradually reducing levels, during 2008-2010. In addition to subvention funding under the CCSS, the service in question received transitional funding of €58,414 in 2008. During 2008-2010, the service received subvention funding amounting to €501,211.

In September 2010, the transitional provisions under the CCSS ended and the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme was introduced in its place. The CCS continues to provide support to community childcare services to enable them to charge reduced childcare fees to qualifying parents. I understand that the service in question has been approved CCS funding of €263,354 for the period September 2010 to August 2011.

In addition, the service is participating in the Community Education and Training Support (CETS) programme which was introduced in September 2010, replacing two previous childcare support schemes implemented by FAS and the VECs. Under this programme, the Childcare Directorate of this Department pays a weekly capitation fee of €170 to services for each contracted place and qualifying students and trainees can avail of these as free childcare places. I understand that the Learning Tree was approved funding of €40,280 in December 2010 under this programme.

My Department also has responsibility for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme which provides a free pre-school year for eligible children in the year before commencing primary school. The service in question is also participating in this programme and has received a total of €19,285 in funding for the school year which commenced in September 2010.

Information relating to the number of staff employed in childcare facilities is not available to my Department.