Written answers

Tuesday, 17 October 2017

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Child Care Costs

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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63. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the ongoing difficulties in regard to affordability and sustainability in the non-ECCE early years sector; and the reason her Department has not increased the amount of subsidies payable to parents under the single affordable child care scheme in view of these issues. [43769/17]

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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509. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the ongoing difficulties in regard to affordability and sustainability in the non-ECCE early years sector; and the reason her Department has not increased the amount of subsidies payable to parents under the single affordable child care scheme in view of these issues. [43780/17]

Photo of Katherine ZapponeKatherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 509 together.

In recent years, I have secured significant additional investment in the early years sector, focussing investment at each stage on critical elements of early years care and education. The new measures announced in Budget 2018 form part of a trend of continued growth and investment. In Budget 2017 I secured a 35% increase in childcare funding, which followed from a similar 35% increase in Budget 2016. Cumulatively the last three budgets have seen an increase of 87% in investment after decades of under-investment. However, I have said on many occasions that we will need significant investment in every budget for many years to catch up with our OECD counterparts.

The increase in supports now being implemented for the 2017/18 programme year represents a major step towards accessible affordable quality childcare. These increases reflect my ambition to support the provision of quality childcare services with appropriately supported and qualified staff.

These increases are considerable, up to 50% in the targeted subsidies, which significantly decreases the amount of co-payment required of low income families or parents in education or training. Parents can benefit by as much as €7,500 per child per year under the new measures. I also introduced a universal subsidy worth up to €1,040 per year; this subsidy is aimed at children not yet in the free pre-school scheme.

These changes are way-points towards our goal to deliver genuine affordable, accessible, quality childcare. My Department is also progressing the development of the Affordable Childcare Scheme which will ultimately replace all existing targeted schemes. This requires robust IT systems and an appropriate legislative grounding. We must ensure that the new system is absolutely fit for purpose as it will be with us for many years.

Notwithstanding the above, I recognise the pressures on childcare providers. Before the end of this year, I will be providing a further amount of €3.5m towards “programme support payments” for all childcare providers who register for the scheme mentioned above. This amount is in addition to the €14.5m that has been already paid to childcare services so far in 2017.

The increase of 7% in ECCE capitation I just announced should be of significance to all providers as ECCE has become a corner-stone of most childcare services.

Further, my Department has also provided capital investment of over €12m in 2017 with dedicated schemes for both Early Years and School Age Childcare. Investment will continue in 2018 with the detailed specifications currently being finalised by my officials.

In relation to the specific issue raised around sustainability, officials from Pobal and my Department identify and work with providers with serious concerns around their viability. €1m was provided in Budget 2017 for ‘Sustainability efforts’ and my Department is currently engaging with those providers to ensure that these vital services are provided with the necessary financial assistance. An additional €700,000 has been secured in 2018, for the purpose of assisting services enduring sustainability issues. This increased funding will allow my Department to increase the scope of the current sustainability assessment model so that any service undergoing issues affecting their sustainability will have the ability to apply for additional funding under this stream.

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