Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018
1137. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to introduce a second entry point for the ECCE scheme in order to ensure that children that turn two years of age at the beginning of a year and are therefore too young for the September entry point do not have to wait until the following year to avail of the free preschool year. [24435/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder provisions announced as part of Budget 2018 all children will be eligible for two full programme years (a total of 76 weeks) of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) from September 2018 once the child meets the minimum age requirement of 2 years and 8 months at the end of the month before the ECCE intake date.
Current ECCE provision averages at 61 weeks, up from 38 weeks when ECCE was first introduced. However, the three ECCE entry points, which were available for the years 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, meant that there were inconsistencies in the number of free preschool weeks; ranging from 61 weeks to 88 weeks depending on the child’s date of birth. This was perceived as unfair by many parents. The new measures being introduced from September 2018 will address these inconsistencies and will ensure a programme that is equitable for all children and also delivers fully on a commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government that is good for children, families and Early Years providers.
The number of entry points will revert to one at the beginning of the 2018 programme year (September). This single entry point will support quality service provision principally by making it easier for services to provide continuity of staffing through the programme year. The single enrolment will also help streamline the administration process and will make it easier for childcare providers to operate and budget for the programme year. This will also make it easier for parents to secure ECCE places for their children.
While there are no immediate plans to alter the ECCE rules beyond the changes being introduced in September 2018, my Department is currently reviewing the operation of overage exemptions in the scheme.
