Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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96. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will consider extending the building block strand B funding for childcare providers application deadline given the difficulty in getting quotes from providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55665/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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€9m Capital Grant has been allocated by my Department to the Early Learning and Childcare sector. The Building Blocks - Improvement Grant is part of a wider Building Blocks capital programme for the sector under the National Development Plan. Grants will range from €35,000 to €75,000 under both Strands: Strand A (Green Energy) and Strand B (Retrofit). The application will open and close on the same date for both Strand A and Strand B.

The Building Blocks – Improvement Grant is a competitive application process and all applicants that meet the eligibility criteria and have submitted all the necessary documentation by the closing date published will be considered for funding.

The Building Blocks – Improvement Grant opened on Friday 28^thOctober 2022. The closing date for this Grant is Friday 25^thNovember 2022.  

It is expected that Pobal, who are administering the scheme on my Department's behalf, will receive a high volume of applications under both strands.  Officials in my Department are working closely with Pobal, to identify and resolve any issues being experienced by providers, including whether the closing date should be extended. Should there be a change to the closing date, service providers will be notified through the online portal, the Hive.