Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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769. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department has commenced the independent review of the cost of providing quality child care in private and community settings; and the expected date of its completion. [3758/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Given the importance of financial sustainability for the provision of quality childcare, the Programme for Government committed to conducting and publishing an independent review of the cost of providing quality childcare in Ireland. This commitment aligns closely with work on the development of the Affordable Childcare Scheme, including options for further development of the Scheme over time, and initial scoping work on the independent review is being progressed in that context.

Department officials are reviewing previous published research and analysis on the cost of childcare provision, are assessing available data sources and are scoping the precise requirements for the independent review. Issues that the review may consider include (1) the total average cost of quality childcare provision, (2) variation in cost and the reasons for same, (3) the link between cost and quality, (4) the cost of providing childcare services in disadvantaged communities and (5) the likely impact of future cost pressures, including the ongoing professionalisation of the sector.

The independent review is a priority action for the Department in 2017.