Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2019
522. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding provided for the early childhood care and education scheme in 2018 and 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4232/19]
View answerIn 2018, €303.4 million was allocated for the funding of the Early Childhood Care and Education, ECCE, Scheme. This level of funding facilitated the attendance of c. 119,000 children in the ECCE pre-school programme. In 2019, €298.1 million has been allocated for the ECCE scheme based on an anticipated c. 109,000 children registering with ECCE providers.
It should be noted that a number of policy changes to the ECCE scheme were instituted in September 2018 (effective for the academic year 2018/19), including the transition from multiple ECCE intakes in the academic year to a single intake occurring in September. In addition, the minimum age of qualification for ECCE was lowered to two years and eight months, allowing a greater cohort of children to take advantage of the extension of ECCE entitlement to a full two years.
The budget allocation of 2019 reflects lower take-up, largely accounted for by declining birth rate and partly due to some children who are eligible for ECCE, registering instead with other government childcare schemes. This sometimes occurs because at present parents can only register for one early learning and childcare scheme at a time. If the parent requires part-time or full-time day care, whereas ECCE covers three hours per day only, another scheme may be more attractive and may reduce the co-payment required by parents. The budget for these schemes has increased in the recent years.
However, the Affordable Childcare Scheme that is being introduced later this year will allow parents to register for ACS as well as ECCE, ensuring that children who need subsidised early learning and care or school-age childcare, above and beyond ECCE hours, can avail of it in a more streamlined manner.
