Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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600. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the names and addresses of all successful and unsuccessful applicants, respectively in relation to the operation of the building block grant strand B for childcare providers; the number of unsuccessful applicants within Dublin broken down into postal code areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31146/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department was allocated €69m in the National Development Plan (NDP) allocation for the period 2023-2025. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars: Building Blocks - Improvement Grant, Building Blocks - Capacity Grant and a Building Blocks - Innovation Grant.

My Department has allocated €9m in 2023 for the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant. Services that signed up for the Core Funding Scheme were eligible to apply for funding under the scheme. Grants range from €35,000 to €75,000 across two separate strands: Green Energy and Retrofit.

Strand A, the Green Energy Strand, will support the Climate Action Agenda and the Programme for Government, which aim to transition to a carbon neutral economy by the end of 2050 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030.

Strand B, the Retrofit Strand, will provide grants to existing services in need of upgrading. Eligible works include kitchen works and refurbishment, upgrading of sanitary facilities for children and adults, roof repairs/replacement, and upgrading of flooring.

Overall, 946 services submitted applications, out of a total eligible cohort of 4,200 services, which have signed up to Core Funding.

Pobal, who are administering the scheme on behalf of my Department, have put in place an appeals mechanism for unsuccessful applicants. This appeals mechanism is at an advanced stage, however Pobal advise that the current number of successful applicants is subject to change. My Department intends to publish the full list of successful applicants once the appeals process has been completed. A copy of the list of successful applicants under Strand B will be provided to the Deputy at this time.

As unsuccessful applicants are not in receipt of funding under the Building Blocks – Improvement Grant, and applicants did not consent to the sharing of their information in the event of an unsuccessful application, for reasons of data protection, it is not considered appropriate or possible to share the names and addresses of these unsuccessful applicants with the Deputy.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department has allocated €9m in 2023 for the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) facilities. Grants range from €35,000 to €75,000 across two separate strands: Green Energy and Retrofit. Services that signed up for the Core Funding Scheme were eligible for funding under the scheme.

Overall, 946 services submitted applications, out of a total eligible cohort of 4,200 services, which have signed up to Core Funding.

Pobal, who are administering the scheme on my Department's behalf advise that an application to the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant was submitted by the service referred to by the Deputy, applying for supports under Strand B - Retrofit.

Following appraisal, an unsuccessful decision was communicated to the service. At this point, all unsuccessful applicants to the Building Blocks – Improvement Grant were eligible to submit an appeal, in line with the applicant guidelines. Further guidance was also provided to all unsuccessful applicants, detailing a step by step guide for appeals.

I am advised by Pobal that the service submitted an appeal but was unsuccessful. Pobal issued a detailed communication to the service on 31st May 2023, setting out the grounds for their decision not to uphold the appeal.

Work is currently underway on the design and delivery of the Building Blocks – Capacity Grant which will address capacity gaps, fund an expansion in existing services and invest in the development of new services where most needed. The Building Blocks – Innovation Grant will pilot a range of innovative initiatives such as outdoor early learning and childcare services. I hope to announce details of these in the coming months. Funding under both Grants will be allocated over 2024-2025.