Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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372. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a person (details supplied) in County Limerick is exempt from paying child care costs under the child care employment and training support scheme while undergoing a course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42745/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) programme, which is one of a number of childcare support programmes implemented by my Department, provides subsidised childcare places to qualifying trainees and students participating in certain Solas and Education Training Boards (ETB) training and education courses. The eligibility criteria for CETS are determined by Solas and ETB.

Under the CETS programme, funding is provided by my Department to participating childcare services in return for the provision of subsidised childcare places to qualifying trainees and students. Parents are required to make a contribution which is dependent of the session type and the maximum parental contribution for each session type has been prescribed. Once a childcare place is approved, funding is committed for the entirety of the parent’s course, subject to certain terms and conditions.

There are four session types of subsidised childcare places under the CETS programme which attract different rates of payments to the provider and different maximum rates of parental contribution. They are:

In relation to the specific query by the Deputy, I understand that two children of the parent in question are currently approved for full-day care places for 5 days a week under the CETS programme. The funding for these two children has been committed for a total of 43 weeks and represents a financial commitment of €12,470.00. The maximum parental contribution that the service provider may request from the parent in question is €25 per child per week.