Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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572. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the procurement policy her Department undertook in awarding the €900,000 training fund contract; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50634/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Since 1998, when the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme and, subsequently, the National Childcare Investment Programme, were introduced, my Department and its predecessors has been supporting the development of the childcare sector. This support has included the provision of annual funding to a number of voluntary childcare organisations. These include:

- Early Childhood Ireland (formerly the National Children's Nurseries Association and the Irish Preschool Play Association)

- Barnardos

- Irish Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Association

- Forbairt Naionrai Teoranta

- Border Counties Childcare Network

- St Nicholas Montessori Association and

- Childminding Ireland

These are voluntary organisations which, inter alia, provide training and quality supports to their members.

As part of my Pre-School Quality Agenda, I will be introducing new qualification requirements for childcare workers. All staff caring for children in a pre-school service will be subject to a minimum qualification requirement of FETAC Level 5, while pre-school leaders delivering the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme will require a Level 6 qualification. These requirements will come into effect from September 2014 for new services, and from September 2015 for existing services.

In the light of these timeframes, my Department has sought to work with the childcare sector to accelerate the process for training and upskilling its staff and improving the quality of care delivered to children. It is recommended that to achieve the required qualifications in the limited time period, staff in the sector, who are on modest pay should not have to pay the full cost of accredited training from their own resources.

In this context, Early Childhood Ireland, which is the largest of the voluntary childcare organisations funded by my Department, has been asked as part of its 2013 workplan to offer additional training to the existing childcare workforce, in relevant Level 5 and 6 training modules. This training has commenced and I understand that 13 training courses are currently being delivered. It is anticipated that up to 600 childcare staff will access courses leading to the higher qualification. Additional grant funding will be made available to ECI in 2013 to provide for this.

Early Childhood Ireland is a limited company with charitable status. It represents a significant number of the childcare facilities whose staff will benefit from the training initiative. ECI has a proven record in delivering quality training to its members, and is a registered FETAC/QQI centre with full Quality Assurance status. Processes, policies and procedures are in place to ensure fair and consistent assessment of learners. This process is continually reviewed through self-evaluation, and is monitored by FETAC/QQI.