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CAPITAL FUNDING AMOUNTING to €3 million for community childcare services, parent and toddler groups and childminders was announced today.
Almost €2.5 million of the funding will go towards repair, maintenance and upgrade of community and not-for-profit childcare services.
Funding of €250,000 will be allocated to support parent and toddler groups and another €250,000 will go to the Childminding Development Grant Scheme, which supports childminders who look after children.
Childminders
The funding for early years services will go towards developing quality childcare in Ireland, said the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald.
The €2.5 million will go towards large scale maintenance works, with grants of up to €50,000 available for buildings previously in receipt of large-scale Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP) or National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP) capital funding.
The works include work that needs to be done to roofs, windows, doors, as well as improvements to heating, sanitary systems, building access or safety replacement of worn fixtures and fittings and essential repairs to outdoor play areas.
Applications for these strands can be made from the 7 April on the Pobal website.
Disadvantaged areas
The minister said she was “committed to securing the sustainability of community and not for profit childcare services, particularly in disadvantaged areas”.
She added that many community childcare facilities were built with state investment, “but many are now over ten years old, and issues are emerging in terms of repair, maintenance and upgrade which must now be addressed, to ensure that quality childcare services can continue to be provided and to protect the State’s previous investment,” said.
The next capital funding scheme for the early year’s sector will happen before the end of the year, which would commence in early 2015.
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I agree with the scheme helping those to go back or stay in education, and for families earnings a low income.
My issue is that it that it is heavily subsidised, and again subsidised by community welfare officer for parents who have addiction problems or neglect their children. I know of parents with these problems paying €7 per week for a child care place for their child, these parents are not in education or working, not even in courses to improve their parenting. Every community childcare place is subsidised by over €100 per week, while parents who work full time, pay tax etc, have to pay double this a week.
Well said, if they aren’t in full/part time employment or education, why do they need a full time child care spot?
Not defending the parents in anyway, but from a different point of view, its more beneficial for the child.
Yes beneficial to the child for the hours they are there, but the child still has to go home in the evening and weekends. My point is that these parents should be attending courses etc to improve their parenting and situation while the child is in crèche.
I’m replying to youknowimright’s question, but I also agree with you, parenting courses should be provided for everyone, not just to families in poverty.
What they need to do is look at the actual cost of childcare.Irelands childcare costs are a rip off and it would pay some couples to actually stay home rather than actually hold down a job.No doubt our great honest government will brush all this under the carpet as usual !
Stay at home and raise the children they brought into the world ?????
Are you nuts ?
That idea seems completely lost on most modern parents who seem to prefer to send the children to the orphanage every morning instead.
Crumbs ….. 2.5 mill won’t go to far…
Once again the government funding those parents who choose not to work and leaving those who pay huge tax contributions high n dry with child care costs being more than mortgages.. Same old crap.. You better off being a dead beat on welfare in a “disadvantaged” area than a worker and a contributor to society in this country
And those kids still end up with their parents as role models so the cycle just continues…
Nothing changes….Yawn….
We’re eventually going in the right direction, but that’s only a drop in the ocean.
P.S. Might pay for a toilet in a ministers office…
have your say