My Department currently administers three support programmes — the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, the Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) programme and the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. The Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme provides funding to community childcare not-for-profit services to enable them to charge reduced childcare rates to low income and disadvantaged families. Community childcare services qualify for grant aid on the basis of the level of service they provide and the profile of the parents benefiting from their service. Because of the current budgetary situation no applications from service providers are being considered under this programme in 2012.
The Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) programme was introduced in September 2010. The CETS programme provides free childcare places in both community and commercial services to qualifying FÁS and Vocational Educational Committees (VECs) trainees and students. Again, due to the budgetary situation, no approvals for new childcare places are currently being considered under this programme. In the region of €63 million is being provided in 2012 to support the CCS and CETS programmes.
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides one free preschool year to all eligible children in the year before commencing primary school. Both community and commercial childcare services are eligible to apply to participate in this programme. Due to demographic pressures, which mean that the number of children eligible for the programme will increase by some 3,000, the cost of the programme is expected to rise to almost €176 million in 2012, an increase of almost €10 million and this funding has been provided for. The ECCE programme will continue to be evaluated and developed as resources permit. Future developments relating to early years care and education will be considered during preparation of the new National Early Years Strategy 2012.