Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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160. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the eligibility criteria will be increased for the 2021 capital funding grant for fire safety works to those childcare providers who carried out work in order to obtain their fire safety certificate in 2019 and 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13839/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The 2021 capital funding grant closed for applications on 02 March 2021.

The 2021 capital funding programme focused on ensuring fire safety in early learning and care childcare services around the country. The 2021 Capital grant funds were voted are part of the 2021 budget and can only be used for expenditure incurred in 2021. It is not possible to use these funds to compensate early learning and childcare providers for works they undertook in previous years.

The Department appreciates that many early learning and childcare services already hold a fire safety certificate for their childcare premises, however given the absolute priority to keep children safe in their early learning and childcare services, the entire 2021 early years capital budget of €10.5 million is available to assist services complete any outstanding fire safety works required to obtain a fire safety certificate.

If any of the €10.5 million available for the 2021 Fire Safety Grant is not required for this purpose, the Department will distribute the balance by way of a second round of grants, which will focus on outdoor play. Further detail on this will be announced later in the year.