Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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841. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of reinstating the childminding advisory service. [12153/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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In 2002, the Health Service Executive (HSE) agreed to fund a Childminding Advisory Officer post in each county, who would work with the City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs) funded under the Childcare Programme, implemented by the then Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Within the Department there are no plans to reintroduce the Childminding Advisory Service at this time and, as such, no cost analysis of reinstating this service has been commissioned. My Department has asked Childminding Ireland to chair a working group on reforms and supports for the childminding sector. It is expected that this group will produce a report for my consideration by the end of May 2017.

County Childcare Committees (CCCs), funded under the Childcare Programme, provide valuable services at local level and supporting the childminding sector is an integral part of their work. As a result, childminders have access to some level of support, training and advice.

My Department provides annual funding to each CCC to enable them to support and advise all childcare providers, including childminders, at local level. In 2016, the total amount allocated to the CCCs was €10.4 million. In addition, in 2016 my Department provided €250,000 to the CCCs for disbursement to eligible childminders by way of Childminding Development Grants. My Department also provides annual funding, totalling €2.44 million in 2016, to six national voluntary childcare organisations to provide support at a local level to their members. This included €340,000 for Childminding Ireland (CMI), the representative body for childminders. This national association supports quality development in family based care for children. It supports parents with childcare choices and concerns and also childminders.

In this context, my Department will await the recommendations of the working group and these recommendations will, inter alia, inform future policy in relation to the regulation of the childminding sector as a whole.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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842. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost over a five-year period to increase her Department's agreed threshold of €47,500 of a household's combined income year-on-year for those five budgetary years by €500 per year, therefore, year one increasing the threshold to €48,000, in tabular form; and the total cost over a five year period for all households eligible for ACS subsidies. [12180/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that the maximum income thresholdensures that some level of subsidy is awarded to all low income families making use of regulated childcare, through including all families within the bottom five income deciles (that is, 50% of the population). It also includes the very large majority of current scheme beneficiaries, while “saver” provisions will ensure that any current beneficiaries with higher income levels are not negatively affected in the immediate transition to the new scheme.

In setting the base and maximum income thresholds, a number of factors were considered such as the poverty line, income distribution, disincentive effects, continuity with current targeted childcare schemes, and cost and cost effectiveness.

When costing the scheme, it was estimated that increasing the maximum income threshold to €52,500 would increase the total yearly cost of the scheme to an estimated €158 million. In other words therefore increasing the total annual cost of the scheme by €800,000 for every increase of €500 in the maximum income threshold as per table.