Creche funds slashed by 90%

http://www.mychildcare.ie/news16102009.asp

Creche funds slashed by 90%

By Claire O’Sullivan
THE Government has slashed its promised investment in community creches by 90%.
Just €11 million is to be spent by the Government on capital works at community creches next year – compared with the €125 million promised.
The National Childcare Investment Programme announced in 2008 it would spend €125 million on capital projects at community creches in 2009, but by autumn, applications for just €85 million of grants were sanctioned by Pobal, who run the NCIP for the department.
However, due to the worsening economic crisis, the last stage of the approval process was deferred in November and when the allocations were eventually announced in recent weeks, it emerged just €10.6 million is being spent on 29 projects.
Fine Gael children’s spokesman Deputy Alan Shatter said it made no sense to cancel vital capital projects when construction prices were low.
"It has now emerged after questions from me to the minister for children that funding for only 29 childcare facilities has been secured with a total budget of €10.6 million, a fraction of the original, to be allocated next year," he said.
"It should not have required a Dáil question and correspondence with the minister to uncover the true extent to which the Government had cut back this scheme. It makes no sense to cancel capital projects like this which are vital to communities when the building industry is crying out for jobs," said Mr Shatter.
In the answer to the parliamentary question, the Office of the Minister for Children (OMC) said the projects funded this year were chosen as they were "high priority".
"Key criteria in determining priority applications were severe disadvantage and where an existing community service was in danger of closure if necessary repairs required by the HSE Inspectorate could not be carried out," the parliamentary reply said.
According to the OMC, €100m was drawn down from the NCIP by the end of last year and €80m more will be drawn down by the years end, excluding the high priority projects.
This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner

http://www.mychildcare.ie/news16102009.asp