Childcare Services

68. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to give an update on the sites to be selected for the rollout of the State-led childcare pilot; and if she has considered the inclusion of County Kildare given it has one of the lowest levels of community childcare provision. [65891/26]

I thank the Deputy. I announced €135 million in capital investment in buildings for high-quality, accessible State-led early learning and childcare up to 2030. This is a ground-breaking initiative for Government and it began this year. Capital funding will be used to acquire and fit out the buildings, depending on requirements. The State-led initiative will provide thousands of places up to 2030, with the funding provided through the national development plan. The level of investment will ramp up over the lifetime of the Government. The programme was launched earlier this year and has eight objectives, including the delivery of additional supply in suitable locations, cost-effectiveness and timeliness, and supporting improved public management of the sector. A range of tools have been developed to assess projects’ alignment with the programme objectives, including a forward planning model to analyse early learning and childcare supply and demand. The Department has received project proposals from a number of sources since the programme was launched. These projects are in different stages of development. Some relate to existing buildings ready to be occupied or fitted out, while others are longer term prospects for future years. Not all proposals align with the programme objectives. Some projects are proposed by an existing early learning and childcare service provider, while others relate to a building or property only, where a separate process to identify an operator would be required. The Department has a long list of projects under consideration, including project proposals received through preliminary appraisal forms from city and county childcare committees. I am advised that no formal proposal has been received from County Kildare via a preliminary appraisal form. The Department is aware that this list is not exhaustive and I reiterate that the scheme remains open. There is an opportunity for people to make proposals at any point and I am very happy to do that. As Deputy Wall is aware, the first point of contact is the local city and county childcare committees.

I thank the Minister for her reply. It is disappointing to hear we have had no proposal from County Kildare. As the Minister is aware, I have discussed with her on multiple occasions in the House the deserts that exist in County Kildare, particularly around towns such as Kilcullen and Newbridge, where parents come to me and say they cannot find childcare. The question I have as a result of the Minister's reply is whether parents can contact the childcare committees. It seems to me that unless a provider contacts the childcare committees we will not get the facilities we need in Kildare. It is parents who are contacting me and it is parents who are facing these problems. I have previously given examples in the House of people who have made a life in Kilcullen having to move back to counties such as Kilkenny because they do not have childcare facilities in that town. This is still happening on a weekly basis in my county. Again, the question I ask is whether the Department will get involved in identifying these deserts that we and the Minister have spoken about in the House previously rather than relying on childcare committees and proposals that childcare committees might get from providers.

To be clear, proposals to the city or county childcare committees are not all from providers. They can be from anyone. Deputy Wall will appreciate that there has to be some form of a process and the first line of the process has been identified to be the local on-the-ground mechanism of the county and childcare committees. It is free to anybody to make a proposal. In the first instance, this year we are looking at provision of buildings and primarily where a building might be available. I am aware that community groups have stepped forward, as have individuals. The proposals can come from anywhere and there is an openness in the city and county childcare committees to look at any proposal that comes their way. Of course we will look at other opportunities as well. There are opportunities through local authorities. We are very open to working with anybody who has a viable proposal. In the first instance a preliminary business case will be made and then a full business case. To assure the Deputy, the process remains open. If anybody wants to step forward we are very happy for consideration to be given to the proposal.

By the end of the day I will be sending the Minister a number of proposals from County Kildare because so many families are asking me this question. The problem I have with the Minister's answer is that we are still reliant on viable proposals. Parents are hard-working, as we have just discussed with regard to parental leave, so how are they to come up with premises? I have contacted schools and local sports clubs to try to get them involved in this and they are not forthcoming with the premises. We still have these deserts, as I call them, in Kildare and other counties because I have been contacted by people in other counties. I ask again that when the Department receives these multiple questions from parents it looks at these deserts and works with the parents, who are ordinary decent families working each day but finding it more and more difficult to get childcare places and do not have the time, energy or perhaps know-how to identify places. This is where I believe the Department and the childcare committees come in. I ask that when the Minister receives the proposals from me later today she actively looks at them and at providing childcare places in County Kildare where they are needed.

I suggest, as I have already outlined, that the first line of contact is the local city and county childcare committees. That is the process. I would be surprised at this point if Deputy Wall has not engaged with them because I know he is very active on the ground and I imagine he has already engaged with them. If he has not, that is the first line of contact. Whatever proposal Deputy Wall has, it should go to them first. They are on the ground and can discuss with him the potential possibilities or the viability of a particular project he might want to advance. As it stands, this year we are looking at buildings that might be available because this is the quickest access. If opportunities present themselves we will look at building facilities or whatever. Let us be very clear that there is a process whereby a proposal, suggestion, idea or vision can be discussed on the ground with the local facility, which is the local city and county childcare committee. I suggest that if Deputy Wall has a number of proposals he engages with them first and if they are viable they will come to the Department and we will do all we can to progress them.