Victor Boyhan Salutes £135m State-Led Childcare Initiative
Victor Boyhan praised the Minister for Children’s announcement that £135 million will fund a state-led childcare service, calling it an ambitious start to deliver high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare. He endorsed a mix of public and private provision, welcomed plans for purpose-built facilities, and urged local authorities to engage with the minister now.
Announcement and endorsement
The minister announced an initial £135 million to develop a state-led early learning and childcare service. Victor Boyhan commended the decision and described the funding as a beginning that aligns early learning with childcare supports to aid children’s cognitive and social development.
Funding and places
He noted that up to eight buildings will be selected for investment this year, with 100 places each, creating 800 initial places. The £135 million is presented as seed funding, with further investment to come from the National Development Plan to expand provision to thousands of places out to 2030.
Public and private provision
Boyhan argued there is potential for both public and private providers and for synergies between them. He highlighted that capital funding can be used to acquire or refit community buildings, while the minister appears to prefer tailor-made, purpose-built facilities.
Local authority engagement
He urged city and county councillors to raise the issue immediately with their chief executives and to engage with the minister and state agencies about available local facilities. Boyhan emphasised the need for councillors to act now rather than in six months' time.
Selected facility in Shangana Castle
He thanked the minister for selecting a purpose-built, state-of-the-art childcare building in Dunleary-Wat-Down at Shangana Castle, which had sat empty for nine months. Boyhan said the minister stepped in after suggestions it might be hived off to a private childcare facility and welcomed the decision to use it in an area of demand and need.
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I just want to raise again the debate, I suppose, and the much concern and debate, should I say, that has been expressed about childcare places and the challenges around the provision of public childcare facilities versus the private childcare facilities. And I really stand here today to commend and salute the Minister for Children, Norma Foley, who yesterday confirmed that £135 million will be made available for state-led childcare service. Now, that's just the beginning, but I like the ambition of what the Minister is setting out. And this funding, in her own statement, is set aside to provide high-quality, accessible early learning and childcare. And I like the synergy of early learning and support and childcare as one. It's not a place to house children and play down hours. It's to help for them to develop their cognitive, their clinician, but also their supports, and give them that advantage for going on into education. And we all know that children that have early interventions and supports, like childcare, is important. The argument versus public versus private, I think there's potential for public, there's potential for private, there's potential for synergies between both. We have many community buildings within our local authorities that could possibly be used. So, the Ministers indicate that capital funding will be used to acquire or to refit buildings, depending on the requirements. But I think her preferred option, reading between the lines, is to go for tailor-made, purpose-built facilities. So, initially, the announcement is that up to eight buildings will be selected for investment this year, not next year, but this year, for 100 places per eight buildings. That's 800 places. The state-led initiative is expected to provide thousands of places in the long term, out to 2030, using the £135 million as an initial fund and tapping into funds from the National Development Plan. So, I understand Minister Foley has said that she's in discussions with local authorities and state agencies. What I would say to our city and county councillors, because I'm particularly keen on them and work with them, is they should be raising these issues now, not in six months' time, with their chief executives as saying, engage with the Minister and see, do we have facilities that we could offer? And I finish on this, I want to thank the Minister, particularly for selecting one building in Dunleary-Wat-Down, which is in Shangana Castle, I'm familiar with it. It is built to highest spec for childcare. It has sat empty for the last nine months. There was a suggestion that it might be hived off to a private childcare facility, but the Minister has stepped in and has identified this purpose-built state-of-the-art childcare facility in an area of demand and of need in Shangana Castle. And I want to be associated with that, and I want to salute her for her courage and her ambition in developing this sector. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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