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	Ireland&#39;s largest community childcare centre could be forced to close in the coming weeks because of a cash flow problem, which it says has been caused by funding cuts.</p>
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	The Darndale/Belcamp Integrated Childcare Centre in Dublin, provides cr&egrave;che and after school care for 260 children.</p>
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	The service, which has 98 staff, has advised parents that closure is imminent unless the Government restores funding.</p>
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	Centre Manager, Kelda Barnes said &quot;In the past five years we found ways to try and solve the problems ourselves.</p>
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	&quot;We&#39;ve taken pay cuts, increased parents fees, change the layout of the centre to maximise space, and last year we raised &euro;112,000 in fundraising.</p>
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	&quot;This year we&#39;ve run out of options, we&#39;ve done everything we can do in the centre. We are now asking the government to please support us.&quot;</p>
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	The majority of children at the centre are availing of subsidised childcare schemes and worried parents say without the facility, they would have to give up their work or education.</p>
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	Michelle Curley, whose daughter attends the centre, said &quot;this subsidised cr&egrave;che is a lifeline to me, it allows me to go to work so that I can make ends meet in my household.&quot;</p>
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	Another parent, Suzanne Webster who works for a charity, said if the service closed she&#39;d &quot;have to give up her community employment completely and go back on social welfare, which is something that I definitely don&#39;t want to happen.&quot;</p>
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	The childcare centre has annual expenditure of &euro;2m and over the past five years its funding has been cut by &euro;300,000.</p>
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	It needs &euro;200,000 to stay open until the end of the year.</p>
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	This evening, the Minister for Children, Charlie Flanagan TD said in a statement: &quot;I have arranged for a meeting tomorrow of funding agencies following which I expect there will be an early meeting with the centre to constructively explore all options for achieving a sustainable approach to the Centre&#39;s operations.&quot;<br />
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	<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0513/617111-community-childcare-centre/">http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0513/617111-community-childcare-centre/</a></p>
