Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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390. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a breakdown including early childhood care and education scheme pay and ECCE non-pay, access and inclusion model and so on of the €334.5 million provided for ECCE and AIM preschool in line B.3 of the Revised Estimate for 2021. [38492/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department operates a number of early learning and school-age childcare funding schemes. These schemes are administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department.

The allocation under the B3 subhead for 2021 amounts to €334.5m. This subhead provides funding for three programmes.

- Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)

- Access and Inclusion Model (AIM)

- Programme Support Payments (PSPs)

Given the nature of the scheme, ECCE does not incorporate a pay/non-pay split.

The table below shows the 2021 allocation for each of the above-mentioned schemes.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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391. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated cost to increase funding by 10% of the existing sustainability fund for childcare providers. [38493/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department oversees a Case Management process through which local CCCs and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to early learning and care and school age care services.

Where there are financial difficulties that contribute to the issues that services are faced wtih, Sustainability Funding can accessed through Case Management under a number of different strands. Sustainability Funding is currently available for community services presenting with sustainability issues following a financial assessment by Pobal.

A new strand will be available in the autumn which will be open to both private for-profit services and community not-for-profit services that are signed up to Core Funding.

In Budget 2022, €2.15 million has been allocated for Sustainability Funding.

The cost of increasing the funding in the existing Sustainability Fund by 10% would result in the existing budget rising to €2.365m.