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

As the Deputy is well aware, from September 2018 all children meeting the minimum age requirement of two years and eight months will be eligible to participate in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme for a full two years. This means a total of 76 weeks of the scheme will be available to every child, thereby fulfilling a commitment in the programme for Government. The current system of three intakes of children was introduced in 2016 to help to expand ECCE from its original 38 weeks to the current average of 61 weeks. While the expansion of ECCE to 61 weeks on average was a welcome measure, the number of weeks for which children proved eligible varied greatly. In addition, the April take-up proved poor and the three entry points caused difficulties for children, providers and parents. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs received numerous reports of the three entry points causing significant disruption to children in the learning environment.

Funding was provided in budget 2018 to make two years, or 76 weeks, of ECCE available to all children, thereby significantly enhancing the equity of the scheme. Depending on a child's month of birth and parental choice regarding school readiness, some parents may decide to start their child in school after one year of ECCE only. Children are born across 12 months of the year, but there is only one entry point to school. Therefore, the parents of children who were born at certain times of the year will face harder decisions than the parents of children who were born at other times. Parents have the discretion to decide how much of ECCE to avail of for their children. I respect that choice. A decision may be made to utilise just one year of the programme for various reasons. For example, some parents of children who were born in the first quarter of the year may opt for them to start school at the age of four rather than the age of five. Such parents may decide to avail of just one of the two years of ECCE available to them.

Age limits exist for the scheme to guide its usage in a child-centred manner. The minimum age of two years and eight months was chosen based on national experience and a review of international practice. It had regard to the regulatory environment for early years care and education in this country and issues such as child development readiness and adult-child ratios. The upper age limit for the scheme reflects the law of the country with regard to enrolment in school and the policy of the Department of Education and Skills. The refinement of the scheme back to a single enrolment point in September reflects the extra investment, which offers a full two years to all children. It will help to streamline the administration process and will make it easier for childcare providers to operate and budget for the programme year. It will make it easier for parents to secure places for their children. A child will not be able to commence his or her ECCE in September 2018 if he or she has not reached the age of two years and eight months on or before 31 August 2018. However, such a child will be able to commence ECCE in September 2019 and continue for a further year from September 2020 before commencing school in September 2021. As with all initiatives introduced or supported by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, we will continue to be open to receiving feedback. The expansion of ECCE to a full two years this September will be monitored closely by the Department. Any opportunities for continued improvement will be considered. I hope this clarifies the situation for the Deputy.

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