Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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22. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her intention is to redirect any savings from cuts to her Department spend, in particular to one-parent family payments, to fund child care provision. [17319/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Child care policy, including the delivery and/or expansion of child care services, is the responsibility of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (D/CYA).

The reforms to the OFP scheme have highlighted the need for additional child care supports to be available for lone parents who make the transition into employment. For that reason, the Department in conjunction with the D/CYA, introduced a range of measures in Budgets 2013 and 2014 to assist lone parents to enter or re-join the workforce – namely the after-school child care scheme and the community employment childcare programme. Both of these schemes were funded by my Department from savings from the child benefit scheme and are part of the 25,000 subsidised childcare places which the D/CYA fund for low income parents each year.

In Budget 2015 I introduced increases to the child benefit rate, as well as the new back to work family dividend (BTWFD), both of which are designed to provide some additional financial assistance to parents.

The D/CYA has also established an inter-Departmental group at senior level in order to carry out an economic and cost-benefit analysis of policies and future options for increasing the supply, accessibility, and affordability of quality child care, including early years and school-age care. This group is led by the D/CYA and includes representatives from a number of Departments including the Department of Social Protection (D/SP).

The Government's Spring Economic Statement acknowledges that a successful childcare policy helps people make the transition from welfare to employment. The interdepartmental group's report will be a key input in determining the future of childcare provision in Ireland. I look forward to reviewing the group's report and considering it with my Cabinet colleagues.