Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs monitors the capacity of child care providers on an ongoing basis. In April 2017, more than 120,000 children participated in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme at peak demand. While pressure on places was high in some areas, the system successfully accommodated all children for whom a place was sought. From September 2018, the structure and entry points of ECCE will change as a result of the additional investment that has been made available to fund a full two programme years. It is estimated that 114,000 children will register for ECCE for the full programme year at that point. As the system was able to accommodate 120,000 children in 2017, I am confident that there should be no problem accommodating 114,000 children in 2018. The one entry point will reduce the overall pressures on the system and make it simpler for parents to secure places on the ECCE programme for their children.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, through the city and county child care committees and Pobal, will continue to monitor issues of capacity and need. The Department is continuing to work with the Department of Education and Skills and the Central Statistics Office to identify the number of children who are eligible for the free preschool years. As it did on previous occasions, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will make information available to each of the 30 city and county child care committees on the number of children in each electoral division who are eligible for the ECCE scheme. This will enable the committees to support providers and parents in their local areas to ensure sufficient capacity exists. If any future capacity issues are identified, the Department will consider any intervention necessary, such as the provision of capital funding. I am pleased that the funding I have received in budget 2018 means we can provide for a full second year of the ECCE scheme. I believe this will be to the considerable benefit of children and their families. I look forward to working with providers to ensure we have sufficient capacity to meet the needs of all families.

See this speech in context