Vee Valley Day Care Centre funding
Minister Butler confirmed the issue was about staff shortages and said many day care centres face the same problem. She noted recent CHO funding for day centres and meals on wheels, while the Deputy identified Clogheen as the centre in question.
We have 330 day care centres open all over the country and I was in one in Fethard during the week. I visited it with Councillor Imelda Goldsboro. The Deputy is saying that day care centres are challenged because of the lack of CE workers and we are hearing that everywhere. One of the unintended consequences of having full employment is that there are not as many people available for those schemes. I allocated €5.2 million in recent weeks to the nine community healthcare organisations, CHOs, including €3.5 million for day centres and €1.7 million for meals on wheels, so an allocation will be going out to all the day centres very shortly. It will be a small allocation to help them through this. I have been speaking to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, about the CE issue.