Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 September 2014
151. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cost of extending the early childhood care and education scheme from three hours per day, five days per week, over 38 weeks to five hours per day, five days per week and six hours per day, five days per week over 38 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36236/14]
View answer152. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cost of extending the early childhood care and education scheme from three hours per day, five days per week, over 38 weeks to 44, 46 and 48 weeks per year respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36237/14]
View answer154. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of an additional five hours per week for the preschool year. [36267/14]
View answer155. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of an additional free preschool year. [36268/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 151, 152, 154 and 155 together.
The Early Childhood Care and Education programme was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school.
Despite the challenging budgetary situation, the pre-school year has been maintained as a universal and free programme, ensuring that a significant number of children can avail of quality pre-school services that would not otherwise be in a position to do so.
There is an increasing body of Irish and International evidence quantifying the benefits of early years intervention in terms of improving outcomes for children and in delivering significant economic and societal return to the State. In this context I believe the introduction of a second year would benefit children's educational and developmental outcomes.
A second free pre-school year would represent €2,500 to €3,000 worth of free childcare to parents and would be likely to generate 4,000-5,000 new jobs, albeit mostly part-time.
However, the introduction of a second pre-school year would require considerable additional funding, broadly in line with the cost of the current one-year provision, which is €175 million per annum. This additional funding is not currently available due to the financial constraints under which the Government is operating. In addition, all of the available evidence indicates that the quality of the pre-school provision is key to good outcomes for children. The Early Years Quality Agenda that is being progressed by my Department, and which involves a range of actions in key areas aimed at improving quality within early years services and enhancing the regulatory regime, is a key building block for any further extension of universal childcare provision.
Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the national policy framework for children and young people 2014-2020, recognises the value of early childhood care and education in supporting children's early cognitive, social and emotional development, and the Government is committed to the introduction of a second free pre-school year within the lifetime of the framework once the required quality standards are achieved and subject to the availability of resources. My Department and I will be keeping this commitment under review in the context of the progress of the Early Years Quality Agenda.
The approximate additional extra cost of extending the ECCE programme is:
4 hours per day, five days per week, for 38 weeks = €58m
5 hours per day, five days per week, for 38 weeks = €117m
6 hours per day, five days per week, for 38 weeks = €175m
3 hours per day, five days per week, for 44 weeks = €27.66m
3 hours per day, five days per week, for 46 weeks = €36.88m
3 hours per day, five days per week, for 48 weeks = €46.10m
It should be noted that there are factors outside cost which would impact on policy decisions in this area. For example, a programme that lasted for a 6 hour day would be very onerous for young children, and programmes that extended outside the primary school year could be difficult for parents to manage.
