Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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691. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of the 8,000 community child care subvention scheme places from budget 2016 which have become available; the level of the take up from child care service providers; and the number of places which have become available since the scheme was launched by area in Dublin and nationwide. [19546/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Budget 2016 provided €16m to create an additional 3,200 (full-time equivalent) Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) childcare places, or approximately 8,000 places based on average uptake. Traditionally, CCS has only been available through community (not for profit) childcare services of which there are 900 across the country. Eligible families who did not live in an area with a community service could not traditionally access the scheme. At the end of 2015, using savings from that year, my Department lifted the cap on the number of CCS places available though community services and encouraged these services to provide additional CCS places. However, there was insufficient capacity within the community sector to meet all eligible families needs and hence my Department extended the terms of the CCS scheme so that it could be provided by private childcare providers across the country. This was to ensure that eligible families, regardless of where they lived, could access this important childcare subvention. The Community Childcare Subvention Private (CCSP) programme launched in March of this year.

Of the 8000 subvented childcare places available, 803 (full-time equivalent) childcare places (or approximately 2,014 part-time) are available in Dublin. The balance of 2,397 (full-time equivalent) childcare places (or approximately 5,986 part-time) are available on a pro-rata basis across the remainder of the country. These numbers can be broken down by area in Dublin as follows:

Thus far, 532 private childcare providers have registered for the CCSP Programme. Applications for this programme have been received for 1,227 individual children (includes approved and provisional applications). Of this number, 33 are in Dublin city, 18 are in South Dublin and 9 are in Fingal.

My Department has been monitoring the take-up of CCSP places and will be instituting a number of initiatives to increase public awareness of the CCSP programme. These initiatives include advertisements on social media sites, local and national newspapers and within community settings and support services. It is hoped that as a result of this campaign, additional families will avail of this programme.

The Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme provides funding to childcare services to enable them to provide quality childcare, including after-school care, at reduced rates to disadvantaged and low income working parents. Parents qualify as disadvantaged or low income on the basis of means-tested entitlements. In the case of full day care, parents qualifying for the higher rate of subvention under the CCS programme can have up to €95 per week deducted from the overall charge for childcare in the participating childcare facility.