Childcare places at risk from proposed cuts
The Waterford City Childcare Committee says few additional childcare places have become available in the city in recent times due to limited increases in capital funding.
Committee co-ordinator Noirin Healy-Magwa said: “There is a huge worry about this in the city and concern has been expressed by community facilities about the future of staffing.
“Most community-based facilities cannot be sustained if they do not get staffing grants.”
Community-based childcare centres receive contributions from the Department of Justice to help pay for childcare workers.
However, the funding arrangement is being reviewed by the Department of Justice, which has suggested funding for staffing will be based on stricter criteria that has a clear focus on disadvantage.
The local committee has circulated questionnaires to community-based services asking them how they envisage sustaining themselves if funding is cut in August.
Ms Healy-Magwa called for clarity from the department on the issue and a speeding up of capital grants so new centres and additional places could be provided in the city.
Sinn Féin councillor David Cullinane called on the Government to review the delivery of childcare places and infrastructure under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP).
“We want a national co-ordinated plan that makes it easier for groups at local level to get Government funding as all families should have equal access to childcare facilities,” he said.
The Department of Justice last night said staffing grant assistance is provided along with capital funding under the EOCP to enable projects “to move towards self sustainability”. A spokesperson said this “would normally be achieved when the service is operating at full capacity and with an appropriately tiered fee structure”.
The spokesperson said current levels of staffing supports will remain in place “pending the outcome of this review” but stressed that additional funding had been earmarked for Waterford in the budget for 2005.
