Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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566. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will outline the progress being made in relation to the development of infrastructure for after school services; the extension of subsidies for after school services and raising quality standards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18813/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As part of Budget 2013 I, together with my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, was pleased to announce a new School Age Childcare initiative which will be targeted at low-income parents availing of employment opportunities. The initiative is expected to receive funding of €14 million to provide, in a full year, in the region of 6,000 after-school places for children attending primary school, in order to support parents to take up employment.

Lack of access to affordable, quality childcare is a significant barrier to many low income and disadvantaged families seeking to avail of work opportunities. This initiative will provide an important support measure to enable parents to avail of these opportunities. This is in line with the Government's overall strategy to support parents of low income families to take up employment. Preparations are well advanced for the introduction of a pilot project in a small number of locations with the national roll-out of the programme planned for September this year. The pilot programme will assist both Departments in determining the procedural, quality and practical issues that require attention prior to the finalisation of the programme. Service providers seeking to join the programme can apply to participate, with effect from September 2013, in the normal manner.

As you know the emphasis now in relation to all childcare support programmes is the delivery of easily accessible, affordable and quality childcare provision. The pilot phase of the programme will be evaluated to establish if the programme meets this objective and, if necessary, to identify areas where corrective action is required.

Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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567. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will outline the progress being made in relation to reforming the qualification requirements for workers in early care and education services and regulation, supported by a training fund; the progress being made in relation to reform of the inspection system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18814/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme was introduced in January 2010 with the objective of providing one free pre-school year for all eligible children prior to commencing primary school. Childcare services participating in the ECCE programme are paid a standard capitation fee of €62.50 per week for each eligible child enrolled for the free pre-school year. Under the terms of the ECCE programme, the pre-school leaders delivering the programme must hold a certification for a major award in childcare/early education at a minimum of level 5 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or an equivalent nationally-recognised qualification or a higher award in the childcare/early education field. My Department has part-subsidised on-line courses, developed by one of the National Voluntary Childcare Organisations (NVCOs), for unqualified practitioners in the current workforce who wish to achieve a level 5 award.

In keeping with the Government's commitment to increasing standards in the pre-school sector, a higher capitation payment of €73 per week is available to childcare services in which all childcare workers have qualification levels above the minimum requirements for the programme. To qualify for the higher capitation rate, the pre-school leader must hold a qualification in a relevant discipline at a minimum of a full Level 7 award on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) and meet other conditions as set out by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. A joint  inspection pilot conducted by the HSE Inspectorate and the Department of Education and Skills was recently completed. It is anticipated that the learning from this project will inform the debate on the future development of the pre-school  inspection system.