Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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371. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide capital funding to enable early childhood education and care settings to expand, in keeping with the announcements made in budget 2016; when and how child care providers will be able to access this funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42707/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Funding will be provided in 2016 as part of the Early Years Capital Programme. I am currently considering how best this funding can be targeted in the context of building capacity in the early years sector to meet the new demands for places under the extended Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. I hope to be in a position to announce the details of this programme of capital funding shortly.

In addition to this, the Inter-Departmental Group, which I established earlier this year to consider options for future investment in early years and after-school childcare set out a range of options for future investment to enhance affordability, increase the accessibility and improve the quality of early years and after-school childcare.

Several recommendations of the Group, including a number which relate to after-school childcare, were considered as part of the Estimates process for the Budget and will also be funded in 2016. These include a €3 million capital fund, which will be provided to enable both community/not-for-profit and private providers to develop after-school childcare services using existing school and other accessible community facilities. The terms and conditions for this €3 million capital fund are currently being drafted. It is envisaged that this programme of capital funding will be announced in the first quarter of 2016.