Anne Rabbitte
Ceist:598. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of ECCE places available; and the number of ECCE eligible children by county in tabular form. [21543/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 21 May 2019
Ceisteanna (598, 600)
Anne Rabbitte
Ceist:600. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children on waiting lists for an ECCE place, by county, in tabular form. [21545/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 598 and 600 together.
Please see the following table which outlines the current Early childhood Care and Education (ECCE) registrations per county:
|
County |
Approved ECCE registrations |
|
Carlow |
1,400 |
|
Cavan |
2,062 |
|
Clare |
2,684 |
|
Cork |
14,454 |
|
Donegal |
3,562 |
|
Dublin |
29,674 |
|
Galway |
6,390 |
|
Kerry |
3,310 |
|
Kildare |
6,369 |
|
Kilkenny |
2,395 |
|
Laois |
2,426 |
|
Leitrim |
741 |
|
Limerick |
4,738 |
|
Longford |
880 |
|
Louth |
3,172 |
|
Mayo |
2,973 |
|
Meath |
5,868 |
|
Monaghan |
1,367 |
|
Offaly |
2,021 |
|
Roscommon |
1,556 |
|
Sligo |
1,443 |
|
Tipperary |
3,827 |
|
Waterford |
2,651 |
|
Westmeath |
2,682 |
|
Wexford |
3,986 |
|
Wicklow |
3,770 |
|
Grand Total |
116,401 |
My Department records the breakdown of childcare waiting lists by age cohort rather than by programme. In 2017/18, services reported a total of 173,197 children enrolled in early years services and 9,420 vacant places across Ireland. The table below presents the number of children enrolled and on a waiting list that are approximately within the ECCE eligible age range, as well as the number of vacant places by age cohort. Pre-school children (those aged 3+ to 5 years) represent the largest cohort of children attending childcare services, accounting for 59% of all children enrolled.
|
County |
Enrolled |
Waiting list |
Vacant places |
|
Carlow |
2,057 |
260 |
68 |
|
Cavan |
3,120 |
249 |
104 |
|
Clare |
4,280 |
192 |
383 |
|
Cork City |
4,246 |
510 |
295 |
|
Cork County |
14,662 |
869 |
1,032 |
|
Donegal |
6,575 |
477 |
882 |
|
Dublin – Dublin City |
16,075 |
3,492 |
581 |
|
Dublin – Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
6,357 |
880 |
224 |
|
Dublin – Fingal |
11,149 |
1,076 |
450 |
|
Dublin – South Dublin |
9,294 |
639 |
373 |
|
Galway |
10,514 |
571 |
620 |
|
Kerry |
5,625 |
269 |
186 |
|
Kildare |
8,045 |
350 |
304 |
|
Kilkenny |
3,944 |
414 |
195 |
|
Laois |
3,695 |
43 |
298 |
|
Leitrim |
1,437 |
63 |
74 |
|
Limerick |
7,805 |
865 |
278 |
|
Longford |
1,685 |
168 |
59 |
|
Louth |
4,297 |
238 |
197 |
|
Mayo |
4,509 |
421 |
331 |
|
Meath |
6,996 |
396 |
355 |
|
Monaghan |
3,623 |
147 |
190 |
|
Offaly |
2,697 |
123 |
225 |
|
Roscommon |
2,311 |
172 |
98 |
|
Sligo |
3,144 |
185 |
88 |
|
Tipperary |
6,662 |
372 |
437 |
|
Waterford |
4,612 |
274 |
203 |
|
Westmeath |
3,781 |
316 |
385 |
|
Wexford |
5,724 |
296 |
281 |
|
Wicklow |
4,276 |
231 |
224 |
|
Total |
173,197 |
14,558 |
9,420 |
My Department does not currently collect information relating to children who are not registered
for supports under a DCYA programme. However, the estimated number of children expected to enrol on the ECCE Programme for 2019/20 may be of relevance in this context. These estimates are derived using a number of data sources, including population data provided by the CSO and data on school starting age from the Pupil Online Database held by the Department of Education and Skills. It also reflects consistent trends in uptake of the ECCE Programme, which is in the region of 95% of the eligible cohort. It excludes children within the eligible cohort who may choose to enrol on other DCYA funded programmes.
Drawing on previous analysis from the Forward Planning Unit in the Department of Education and Skills on the estimated number of children in each Local Authority that are within the eligible age range for the ECCE programme, the estimated number of children enrolling in ECCE for the 2019/20 programme year in each Local Authority is provided below.
|
County |
No. |
|
Carlow |
1,323 |
|
Dublin City |
10,973 |
|
Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown |
4,316 |
|
Fingal |
8,570 |
|
South Dublin |
7,297 |
|
Kildare |
5,531 |
|
Kilkenny |
2,272 |
|
Laois |
2,061 |
|
Longford |
980 |
|
Louth |
3,043 |
|
Meath |
5,046 |
|
Offaly |
1,811 |
|
West Meath |
2,124 |
|
Wexford |
3,373 |
|
Wicklow |
3,257 |
|
Clare |
2,544 |
|
Cork City |
2,181 |
|
Cork County |
10,146 |
|
Kerry |
2,889 |
|
Limerick |
4,338 |
|
Tipperary |
3,438 |
|
Waterford |
2,536 |
|
Galway |
5,900 |
|
Leitrim |
711 |
|
Mayo |
2,647 |
|
Roscommon |
1,332 |
|
Sligo |
1,428 |
|
Cavan |
1,744 |
|
Donegal |
3,319 |
|
Monaghan |
1,388 |
|
Total |
108,518 |