The Early Childhood Care and Education Programme provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children, in the age range 3 years and 2 months to 4 years and 7 months, before they commence primary school. This Programme, which has an annual cost of €170 million, benefits in the region of 67,000 children every year.
To deliver the free pre-school year, a standard capitation fee of €62.50 per week per eligible child is paid to participating early years services. A higher capitation fee of €73 per week is paid per eligible child to services with more highly qualified staff. These capitation payments are paid to services in advance of, and during, each school term.
Despite the downturn and the difficult budgetary situation, and the need to reduce capitation payments in 2012, the Government did maintain the pre-school year on a universal and free basis and, importantly, the number of early years services participating in the Programme, at approximately 4,200, remained consistent. The funding provided under the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme to these services was a guaranteed source of income at that time and ensured that early years services were able to continue to deliver services at a time when the demand for childcare had fallen considerably.
One of the issues to be considered by the Inter-Departmental Group on Future Investment in Early Years and After-School Care and Education will be capitation rates and funding options overall for this area. It will consider 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. The Group is expected to submit a series of recommendations to Government in June 2015.
