Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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685. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will address matters (details supplied) regarding childcare centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7127/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I wish to thank the Deputy for the matters raised. There appears to be three main areas of concern which centre on the following: the Board of Pobal, the Affordable Childcare Scheme and attendance records for childcare places under my Department's programmes. I will address these separately below.

Part 1: Pobal Board:

Pobal operates under the aegis of the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD). The Board of Pobal are appointed by the Minister of Rural and Community Development via the Public Appointments Service process. Consequently, any decisions regarding the structure of Pobal require the consideration of my cabinet colleague, Minister Ring, the officials of his department, and the Pobal Board. Notwithstanding this fact, Pobal does indeed administer a number of programmes and schemes on behalf of my Department and consequently, my officials liaised with their counterparts in DRCD with respect to the make-up of the Pobal Board upon its latest renewal.

On foot of this interdepartmental engagement, it is my understanding that my cabinet colleague has due regard for the benefits of direct expertise on the board of Pobal, recognising the importance of appointing persons from diverse backgrounds; with knowledge pertaining to the activities of Pobal. This due regard takes place in the context of ensuring a significant cohort of Pobal’s board are equipped for the proper governance of the company, with respect to risk management, finance, governance, audit, etc. In the context of these multi-faceted concerns, I can confirm that the newly appointed Pobal board takes cognisance of the important role early learning and care and school age childcare plays in the overall delivery of Pobal’s services. Accordingly, there are now four members of Pobal’s board with extensive experience of the early years and youth sectors at policy and practitioner level:

- Ms. Patricia Ball O’Keeffe - qualified solicitor and consultant on child and family law issues

- Ms. Ann Hanley – Cavan County Childcare Committee employee

- Ms. Mary Mooty – extensive experience in the youth and childcare sectors and presently employed by Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board

- Mr. Fintan Breen - National Programme Co-ordinator for the Leadership for Inclusion in Early Years (LINC) programme developed under the ECCE Access and Inclusion Model

It should be noted for the sake of clarity, that my Department sets policy and Pobal implements this and administers schemes on behalf of my Department. The services Pobal provides to my Department are managed under a multi-level governance framework, specifically service level agreements, programmes of work, and individual programme agreements, all of which are monitored closely via regular high level management meetings.

Part 2: Affordable Childcare Scheme:

The DCYA is planning for the Affordable Childcare Scheme to launch in October 2019, replacing all previous targeted childcare programmes with a single, streamlined and user-friendly scheme. Ultimately, this streamlining will tangibly reduce the overall administration which childcare providers will be required to undertake.

To allow for continuity of service, the existing childcare programmes will continue to operate until the launch of the Affordable Childcare Scheme.

Applications for the existing programmes can still be made up until the new Scheme goes live in October. After this time, no new applications for these existing schemes will be allowed.

To make the transition as smooth and safe as possible, existing registrants / families can choose to make the switch to the new Scheme immediately on its launch or to remain on their existing programme for a final programme year.

The free preschool programme, ECCE, will not be affected by these changes.

As part of the development of the Affordable Childcare Scheme, considerable, sustained engagement has taken place with consultative and focus groups to inform the design and development of the system. Childcare providers have been, and continue to be, integral to this process.

My Department will shortly be rolling out a comprehensive programme of information, training and supports for parents, providers and other stakeholders. Training for childcare providers will be provided across multiple platforms, including classroom-based and online, up until the launch date. This training will be tailored and timed to suit the needs of busy childcare providers, and has been designed to ensure that childcare providers are well prepared to operate the Scheme in advance of its launch.

The Affordable Childcare Scheme will subsidise the cost of childcare for tens of thousands of parents, many of whom, to date, have not been able to access such support. As such, it is imperative that DCYA acts as quickly as it can to introduce the new scheme, whilst of course offering supports to providers to assist them with the transition. It is important to note that the new scheme is also increasing investment in childcare services and accounts for some of the 117% increase in budget to the childcare sector over the last 4 years, from circa €260m in 2015 to €575m in 2019.

Part 3: Attendance versus registration only

For all of the early learning and care and school age childcare programmes funded by my Department, funding is provided based on children’s attendance rather than registration. This reflects our responsibility to protect public funds by ensuring that the childcare places which are being publicly subsidised are being used.

It is the responsibility of service providers to ensure that they communicate with parents to ensure that children are registered for the level of childcare for which they actually attend. Neither Pobal nor my Department expect service providers to act as “truancy officers”, however, in cases where a child’s pattern of attendance is consistently below what they are registered for, then the service provider is expected to update PIP to reflect this.

I appreciate that recording attendance and updating PIP can be difficult for providers, and therefore how to guides, instructional videos and a good practice guide to keeping attendance records are available from Pobal. Further support is available from City and County Childcare Committees.

I acknowledge that there are financial implications for services where programme payments are reduced based on reductions in attendance. If these financial consequences affect the continued viability of a service, a range of supports are available through local City/County Childcare Committees and through Pobal's Case Management system. I would therefore recommend that affected services contact both Pobal and their local CCC, who will offer support.

The forthcoming information and training sessions mentioned above, will I believe, provide assurances to service providers re the how the design of the scheme recognises the needs of parents/families and indeed providers.