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Preschool Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2012

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Questions (566)

Robert Troy

Question:

566. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the annual cost for the free pre school year; the number of participants in the scheme and the number of jobs this scheme supports. [44682/12]

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Written answers

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children in the year before commencing primary school.

About 66,000 children, that is approximately 94% of children in the year before school, availed of the free pre-school provision in 2011 at a cost of some €163 million. Additional funding has been made available for 2012 when the cost of the programme is expected to rise to €175 million to cater for changing demographics and provide for the increased number of children in the relevant age cohort which is estimated to rise to approximately 68,000.

Pobal, which administers the childcare support programmes on behalf of my Department, compiles an Annual Survey of the Early Years Sector. According to its 2011 Annual Survey, there are in the region of 4,300 childcare services participating in the ECCE programme and approximately 3,133 of these services responded to the question relating to the number of staff employed. The results, which did not distinguish between those working with children enrolled for the ECCE programme and other children in the childcare service, show some 17,123 staff working directly with children.

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