Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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539. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the subsidies available for child care for working couples in severe mortgage negative equity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17756/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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There is no specific funding targeted at parents in the circumstances outlined by the Deputy but my Department does allocate significant investment each year to provide for a number of childcare programmes that assist parents with the cost of childcare.

These programmes include the free pre-school year under the Early Childhood Care and Eduction (ECCE) programme for children in the age category of 3 years and 2 months and 4 years and 7 months at 1 September. The Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, which provides targeted benefit primarily to lower income and disadvantaged families, is accessible to parents, through community childcare facilities, who have relatively average incomes on the basis of their entitlement to hold a GP visit card. Eligibility for a GP visit card is based on net income and takes account of outgoings such as mortgage repayments and other expenses including childcare costs and travelling expenses. Parents who qualify for support can have their weekly childcare costs substantially reduced.

Funding is also provided by my Department to support the Childhood Education and Training Support (CETS) programme which targets funding to support parents seeking to return to the workforce who are participating in Solas or Education and Training Boards education and training programmes. This programme also supports Community Employment scheme participants along with supporting social welfare recipients returning to the workforce with the cost of after school care.