Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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591. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to provide details on the funding allocated to an organisation (details supplied) on a yearly basis. [41985/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Early Childhood Ireland (ECI) is a registered charity and one of the largest organisations operating in the Early Years sector. ECI represents 3,800 childcare members, who support over 100,000 children and their families through preschool, after-school, and full day-care provision nationwide. They provide a broad range of training, mentoring, information and advocacy supports to better shape the systems, policies and practices that impact on the lives of young children.

ECI is one of seven National Voluntary Childcare Organisations (NVCOs) formerly funded under the Quality Sub Measure of the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006 (EOCP) and the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010 and continue to receive annual exchequer funding.

In 2018, ECI received funding of €1,190,000 from my Department. This funding remains unchanged from both 2017 and 2016. This funding is provided to ECI:

1. To support the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in the delivery of the national childcare programmes;

2. To provide support to all childcare service providers (community, private, childminders, parent and toddler groups, after-schools) in accordance with all statutory regulations, national policy and quality standards;

3. To contribute to national policy development and participate in national collaborations to develop and improve quality standards in childcare, and

4. To enable ECI to provide a support service to their members in the context of the early childhood care and education programmes.

My Department also provides additional funding to ECI on the agreement that they act as an “authorised signatory” and process applications for the Garda Vetting of its members. In 2018, my Department allocated funding of €222,080 to ECI for Garda Vetting. The total number of Garda vetting transactions with members in 2017 was 97,051, with a total of 30,137 applications received.