Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

351. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding made available for child care services in budget 2016; the improvements this funding will deliver for families; the progress made to date in implementing these changes; if the changes include measures to support staff working in the sector and staff retention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40506/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In Budget 2016, I announced an €85 million package of additional investment for childcare. This includes funding for:

- An extension to the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme so that children can enrol in the programme at age three and continue in the programme until they make the transition to primary school. This will reduce childcare costs by an additional €1,500 and will increase the current 38 weeks of free pre-school provision by an average of 23 weeks, and up to 61 weeks depending on the child's date of birth and the age at which they subsequently start primary school. The extension to this programme, which will be introduced from September 2016, will cost an additional €47 million in 2016. The full year additional costs of this extended programme will be in the region of €112 million.

- A suite of supports to help children with a disability to participate fully in the ECCE programme. This delivers on my commitment to address these children’s particular needs in mainstream pre-school settings. Funding of €15 million has been provided to phase supports in during 2016, with a full year cost of €33 million from 2017 onwards.

- 8,000 extra places in 2016 under the CCS programme to help low income and disadvantaged families access quality childcare. These 8,000 places, which are in addition to a further 5,000 CCS places I announced recently with savings achieved in 2015, will cost in the region of €16 million.

- A range of measures to improve the quality of early years and school-aged childcare, including an audit of quality; an extended Learner Fund to support professionalisation of the sector; and an enhanced inspection regime. Funding of €3.5 million is provided for these quality measures in 2016 and will be built upon over coming years.

Budget 2016 also resources a dedicated Project Team to develop a single Affordable Childcare programme to provide working families with good quality childcare at a cost they can afford. Work on this programme will begin immediately, so that it can be in place by 2017. This programme will replace existing targeted programme - Community Childcare Subvention (CCS), along with the Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) programmes, comprising After-School Childcare (ASCC), Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS), and Community Employment Childcare (CEC), providing a new simplified subsidy programme, through both community/not-for-profit and private childcare providers.

€3 million is also being provided to support both community/not-for-profit and private childcare providers who need minor funding to develop after-school services using existing school and other accessible community facilities.