Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2015
501. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cost of providing one extra hour per day per child under the current early childhood care and education scheme over a 38-week period, raising the length of time from three hours per day to four hours per day, five days a week for 38 weeks. [29139/15]
View answer502. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cost of extending the 38 week free preschool year to 52 weeks per child, at the current rate per hour, for three hours per day. [29140/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 501 and 502 together.
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. Funding of over €170 million is provided for the ECCE programme annually in which some 67,000 children receive free pre-school care and education.
The programme is designed to be delivered for three hours per day, five days per week, over 38 weeks (183 days per year), and capitation fees are paid to participating services on the basis of this provision. The programme is based on the primary school model, under which primary schools are required to open on 193 days per year (equivalent to 38.6 weeks).
The approximate additional extra cost of extending the ECCE programme, based on the current capitation rates and for the current cohort of eligible children, is:
- 4 hours per day, five days per week, for 38 weeks = in the region of €55m
- 3 hours per day, five days per week, for 52 weeks = in the region of €60m
While there are presently no plans to increase the current provision within the pre-school year, all options for future investment in childcare are currently being considered by the Inter-Departmental Group on Future Investment in Early Years and After-School Care and Education, which I established in February this year. This Inter-Departmental Group, which is tasked with setting out a range of options for current and future investment, is considering options to enhance affordability, options to increase the accessibility of provision and options to build the quality of provision and support the sustainability of the early years sector. It will submit a series of recommendations to Government shortly.
