Written answers

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Child Care Services Data

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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254. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of new recipients of the community child care subvention scheme since the expansion announced in budget 2016 and since the expansion of the scheme announced earlier in 2015. [7670/16]

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Prior to Budget 2016, the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Programme supported disadvantaged parents, parents in low-paid employment and parents in training or education by enabling those who qualify to avail of reduced childcare costs at participating community or not-for-profit childcare services.

Due to economic constraints, Budget 2012 closed the CCS Programme to new applications from community/not-for-profit childcare services wishing to enter the CCS Programme and to the expansion of services by existing CCS providers. Using savings from 2015, I was able to announce additional CCS places in late 2015. Under Budget 2016, I lifted the previous restrictions as part of a major package of strategic investment in affordable, quality and accessible childcare. The Budget 2016 package included a further €16m investment in the expansion of the CCS Programme, to include its roll-out to private childcare providers, in a targeted manner.

Delivery of these changes and improvements required significant administrative activity by Pobal and my Department. Phase 1 of this roll-out, which took effect in October 2015, lifted the expansion restriction within existing CCS services. Phase 2, announced on 10th November 2015, expanded the CCS Programme to other community/not-for-profit childcare providers not currently under contract to deliver the CCS Programme. Phase 3, which came into effect recently, saw €16 million in funding for further CCS places made available to private childcare providers (CCS Private).

Pobal has advised me that 1,657 additional CCS places have been registered as part of Phase 1 and 2 of the expansion as of March 18th, 2016, and that registrations have continued since then.

The CCS Private programme opened to registrations on Thursday, 14 April last. To date, some 354 children have registered for CCS funded childcare places with contracted private childcare providers.

The Department has been working with the City and County Childcare Committees to help promote uptake of the CCS Community and Private expansions across the country. The CCCs have in turn been working with services within their areas, in particular where they have identified additional need, to communicate the availability of the CCS Programme to parents whose children may be attending their childcare services.

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