Closing on 31 January: Grant Programme for Improved Ventilation

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) has announced the opening for applications of the December 2021 Covid Response Programme for Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare to support services improve indoor ventilation and provide mobile HEPA air filtration systems.

Applications close 31 January 2022 at 5pm and must be submitted on the Early Years Hive.

The amount of grant paid to each ELC and SAC service is based on the number of individual children registered in service on one or more DCEDIY programmes on 24 November 2021. The number of individual children registered will be taken from the Early Years Portal and PIP systems hosted by Pobal. To be eligible for funding, you must have had at least one registered child on one of the following schemes on 24 November 2021: National Childcare Scheme (NCS), Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Community Childcare Subvention Programme Plus (CCSP).

The amount of funding each service is allocated under the Grant Programme for Improved Ventilation and Outdoor Play 2021 is as follows:

1-49 children registered: €1,500

50-99 children registered: €3,000

100+ children registered: €4,500

Guidelines and application forms can be found on the Hive at Useful Links  – Service Provider Portal (ncs.gov.ie)

If you have any further queries on this, please contact the Early Years Employer Service team at 01 4057103 or eyes@earlychildhoodireland.ie.