Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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24. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his views on the use of national school facilities as venues for preschool or afterschool service providers; if it will be considered appropriate for school authorities to undertake a tendering process for selection of a provider, should the decision be taken to permit the use of the school facilities particularly in the interests of fairness to all providers in a locality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27337/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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There have been a number of calls recently for the use of primary school buildings as a means of providing after-school childcare facilities. My Department is aware that many are already used for pre and after-school activities.

The issue of school ownership impacts on the extent to which the State can influence how primary schools use any additional facilities or space they may have. The vast majority of primary school buildings in the country are in private ownership. Of the 3,278 primary schools in 2014, only 190 (6%) are in the ownership of the Minister for Education and Skills. The remaining 94% of primary schools are in private ownership. The State has no authority to compel Patrons who are the owners of school sites to accommodate childcare services on their own property.

I am aware that the Minister for Education and Skills is, however, supportive of coherent measures that facilitate greater community use of schools while respecting the core role of schools. In relation to use of existing school premises, my colleague is of the view that, in the first instance the core role of a school in delivering education to its student body has to be paramount and any additional activities have to adhere to that core role. There are also a number of practical issues, such as lease terms, insurance, etc., that need to be properly examined for schools considering additional activities on their premises.

In relation to the process of selecting a childcare provider to provide a childcare service in the primary school setting, I am aware that some existing pre and after-school providers have additional capacity and would be interested in tendering for such services if schools decided to do so.

Notwithstanding these issues, the Inter-Departmental Group, which I have established to develop a coherent whole-of-Government approach to investment in childcare, has considered the use of the school infrastructure for future delivery of childcare, particularly for after-school and out-of-school care. This Group will report to Government shortly.