Kathleen Funchion
Question:1913. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of making reforms (details supplied) to the ECCE scheme. [24529/16]
View answerFriday, 16 September 2016
Questions (1913)
Written answers
The costs of the measures described are heavily dependent on uptake – it is estimated that, at present, 10% of children under three are in formal childcare. To cater for up to 100% of children between 6 months and 5 years of age would require significant capital investment to increase the capacity of the childcare sector. In addition, a 50 hour week is likely to require an enormous volume of additional qualified staff.
It must be noted that as the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme is an educational programme it could not be delivered to children from 6 months of age. The cost of childcare for children under one year old is considerably higher than for children participating in ECCE, as a significantly higher ratio of staff to children is required (11:1 for ECCE-age children, 3:1 for children below one year of age).
Given the complexities described above it is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of cost. The Department is currently in the process of procuring an independent review of the cost of care, following which the data required to enable an answer to this question will be available. It is envisaged that the Department will tender for independent expertise to conduct the review in the autumn with a view to ensuring that the review is commenced later this year.
As an indicative answer, my Department estimates that there are 320,000 children between the ages of six months and 5 years in Ireland in 2016. At the current ECCE Higher Capitation rate of €5/hour; the cost of care would be in the region of €4.16BN per annum.