Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I assure the House again of the Government's ongoing commitment to early childhood care and education. The ECCE scheme, which Deputy McConalogue mentioned, was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free preschool year to all eligible children in the year before they commence primary school. Almost every preschool service in the State is participating in the programme, so it is available to children in all areas, and some 63,000 children or 94% of the eligible age cohort availed of the programme in the 2010-11 preschool year. In 2011, the ECCE programme is expected to cost €166 million. Services participating in the programme are required to provide age-appropriate activities and programmes to children within the Síolta framework for early learning and they are also encouraged to implement the Aistear curriculum, which has been developed for children from birth to six years.

My objective is to develop the ECCE programme incrementally over the term of this Government. However, all programme funding is considered in the context of the annual Estimates and budgetary process and I must operate within the financial constraints under which the rest of the Government is operating. As I have just said, a key element of this development will be to support the implementation of the workforce development plan by the early education policy unit of the Department of Education and Skills, which is co-located within my Department. In addition, I will be collaborating closely with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, in implementing the recently launched literacy and numeracy strategy. Early intervention is crucial and the strategy provides for a range of actions to be undertaken by my Department to support preschool children and their families. I have been impressed by the work that is going on throughout the country in relation to early intervention. It is increasingly evidence and research based, which is a good thing. We are seeing programmes that have been tested and which we know have a good impact and support families properly.

It would be extremely helpful to many children if a second preschool year was provided. It would probably be particularly beneficial to children with special needs, who can currently avail of the preschool year on a pro rata basis over two years. I would like to be in a position to deliver on this, but as I said, I must operate within the financial constraints under which the rest of the Government is operating. I assure Deputy Wallace that the ECCE programme will continue to be evaluated and developed as resources permit.

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