Childcare services to get €40m funding boost
The Government today confirmed funding of more than €40m to provide thousands of new childcare places across the country.
Michael McDowell, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, said €41.3m in grant assistance would be provided for the development of 43 community not-for-profit childcare services.
The further funding under Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP) will enable the creation of 3,813 new childcare places and support 2,144 existing places.
Minister McDowell also announced a number of smaller capital grants to community groups and private providers, as well as staffing grant assistance, to an additional 51 projects, totalling more than €4.3m.
The minister made the funding announcements at the publication of a report by a Working Group of the National Childcare Co-ordinating Committee School Age Childcare in Ireland in Dublin.
The report recommends using school premises, where appropriate, as a location for school age childcare service.
The minister said he hoped the report would spark interest in developing childcare facilities at schools, and announced that he was making funding available to the City and County Childcare Committees to liaise with school management authorities interested in developing a service at their school.
“I hope the practical recommendations contained in this report, together with the funding through the City and County Childcare Committees, will encourage communities to explore the possibilities of after school childcare,” he said.
Mr McDowell said childcare provision was necessary to increase the participation of women in the Irish workforce, and said more than 800,000 women were now at work in the country.
Among the groups which are to receive funding are six childcare services at third level educational campuses, which the Government hopes will assist young parents and mature students who want to complete their education.
The minister has also launched two reviews of childcare services developed under the EOCP, one examining childcare centres which benefited from EOCP grant assistance in 2004 and the other analysing the achievements of the City and County Childcare Committees in 2004.
