'Pulse of community beating well"

Staff, children and members of Simonstown GFC and the local community gathered at the Le Cheile Childcare Centre in Navan to welcome President Mary McAleese last Friday. The childcare centre is built in the grounds of the Simonstown club and has been operating successfully for almost two years as a member of the Crann Childcare group. President McAleese was brought on a tour around the facility, meeting the children and staff and was also shown the latest initiative, the Ballivor Childcare Playbus which was officially launched by Minister Noel Dempsey earlier that day. Speaking on behalf of the Crann Childcare board, Kevin Martin welcomed President McAleese and said the staff and children were very excited about her visit. He explained how the various centres in the Crann group were pooling resources and knowledge and that they were delighted to be approached by Simonstown Childcare Centre. He said the centre had been operating successfully for almost two years and that, without the support of Simonstown GFC, and the Crann Group, the centre would be a long way from finishing. He paid tribute to the board of Le Cheile for their foresight, to Pobal, FAS and the HSE for their continued support and to the staff for doing such a good job. He also thanked Minister Dempsey for his support and paid tribute to manager Marie Daly who, he said, was the 'chief networker and negotiator in bringing it all together'. President McAleese said she could 'feel the pulse of the community beating so well' and paid tribute to the extraordinary efforts that had been made to do something so good for the children and the community. President McAleese said the centre was 'full to the gills' and this was vindication for the need for it and the vision of investing in our children. She told how her grandmother used to say that what is learnt in childhood is engraved in stone. She said that if we engrave badly on our children, it will be a flaw for the rest of their lives and that people want to do it right and engrave well and that this is what places like Le Cheile are about. 'It is about doing it right from the beginning and wanting them to have the best. It is saying to a parent, you don"t have to do it on your own,' said President McAleese. John Howard, Director of Le Cheile, said it was a historic day for Le Cheile and for Simonstown. He said it was not just about showcasing a football club with 70 teams and a childcare centre with 100 children and 17 staff, but about the tremendous community spirit that exists in providing the site and facilities and the dedication and hard work that was done to put it all in place. He thanked Marie Daly and her professional staff and team for working tirelessly to make Le Cheile the success it is and thanked Simonstown GFC members for their vision and innovation in meeting the needs of the community by providing top class facilities to give people affordable childcare. Also on Friday, the Ballivor Community Playbus was launched by Mr Dempsey. The aim of the playbus is to teach children how to play in a safe area, focusing on the disadvantaged. The upper deck will be a play area for children while the lower deck will be a meeting/training area for parents. Minister Dempsey said: 'Ballivor Community Childcare was the first of its kind in County Meath so it is fitting that they should have the first playbus in the county.' He explained how the Crann Group had made an application to the Office of the Minister for Children and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht affairs through the Dormant Accounts Fund to purchase the Playbus. Meanwhile, members of Navan Childcare Providers, including the Montessori Story, Mother Hubbards and Sandy"s Creche, gathered outside Simonstown to protest about the fact that only community creches get subvention funding and say that subvention funding should follow the child, wherever they are getting childcare. Lynda Carroll of The Montessori Story said: 'One major concern is that, in the current economic climate, parents of children in private providers could unfortunately lose their jobs or their hours get cut and they are forced to move their child or children from an environment they know and follow the subvention. We appeal to Minister Barry Andrews to look at subvention and consider making funding available to private childcare providers.'