Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs for details of the changes to the early childhood care and education scheme announced as part of budget 2016; a breakdown of the number of children his Department estimates will benefit from a full second free preschool year of an additional 38 weeks; and the level of consultation he has had with preschool providers regarding extending the contract of the scheme. [36663/15]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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As someone who has campaigned in recent years for additional funding for the early years sector, I welcome the increase in funding for this area as announced in the 2016 budget. Will the Minister give a breakdown of how many children his Department estimates will benefit from a full second free preschool year, that is, an additional 38 weeks? Will he outline the level of consultation he has had with the preschool service providers about the ECCE contracts?

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. I was very pleased to announce a package of €85 million extra investment in child care, including important improvements to the early childhood care and education, ECCE, preschool programme.

At present, the ECCE programme covers children who have reached the age of three years and two months by 1 September of the relevant year. From September 2016, I am expanding the ECCE programme to allow children to access free preschool from the time they are three years of age until they start primary school. There will be three intakes of eligible children during the preschool year. Children who reach the age of three between April and August can access the programme from September, children who reach the age of three between September and December can access the programme from January, and children who reach the age of three between January and March can access the programme from April.

The number of weeks of free preschool a child will benefit from will depend on their birth date and the age at which they start primary school. This number ranges from 38 weeks for children born between April and August, who start school at the age of four, to 88 weeks for children born between January and March who start school at the age of five. This equates to an estimated 23 additional weeks on average.

The number of children benefiting from the ECCE programme will increase from 67,000 to more than 127,000 in a given year. This extended free preschool provision was first recommended by the expert advisory group on the early years strategy in 2013. It was also one of a series of recommendations of the recent interdepartmental group on future investment in child care which I established in January last. The group consulted widely with a range of stakeholders, including the early years sector, during the course of its work. The recommendation was included in the report of the interdepartmental group which I published in July to facilitate a further debate on how best to meet the needs of parents and children.

I have recently met senior representatives from the early years sector to discuss this and other improvements that were announced as part of the €85 million investment package in budget 2016. The meeting was positive and constructive, with all parties expressing commitment to work together on the issues of capacity and high-quality preschool provision. My Department will be working closely with the early years sector to build capacity in time for the first intake in September 2016 and for subsequent increased availability in January and April 2017.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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While it is welcome that additional resources are being allocated to this sector, there was widespread common ground on the need for issues of quality to be addressed across the sector. I hope that will still be a priority before the introduction of these additional weeks. From the Minister's reply, it is obvious this is not, in fact, a full second free preschool year, given the existing preschool year is 38 weeks and the Minister said that, on average, this second year will be an additional 23 weeks.

Has funding been set aside for the full 67,000 children who currently avail of the existing free preschool year or does the Minister expect fewer children to participate? What is the cost for a full second free preschool year extension?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I ask this given that, in reply to a parliamentary question I asked earlier in the year, the Minister said a full second preschool year would cost in the region of €180 million. However, for next year, the Minister has allocated only an additional €47 million, of which €11 million will be taken up with the restoration of the capitation grant. Therefore, as I understand it, there is only an additional €36 million for the introduction of this scheme in 2016.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Deputy. I call the Minister.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Does the Minister believe this will suffice? In regard to the capacity issue-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask the Deputy to stick to the time limits. We are over time and this means we do not then have time for the ordinary backbenchers to ask their questions.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I can understand that the Deputy would want to spend some time on this because it is a very important area. I am very pleased we have a solid framework for the future investment in child care, following the interdepartmental group report which consulted widely with the sector, including by having an open day for the sector and online consultations for both the sector and for parents. This was widely consulted on and is all the better for that.

Of course, choices have to be made and there has to be a balance. Therefore, on the one hand, there were concerns in the sector about having sufficient capacity for a full second year and, on the other, some people would want it to start sooner. Starting in September of next year allows for capacity to build up. I remind the House that, even today, in the region of 10,000 places are not availed of within the scheme. I believe there will be greater uptake as the economy continues to recover and more people wish to return to work.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister confirm that he has allocated enough money? As I said, in his reply to me earlier in the year, the Minister said the cost of a full second preschool year would be €180 million but he has only allocated €36 million for 2016, which is 20% of the cost. How does the Minister expect to be able to fund the scheme adequately if he has not put by adequate resources?

The Minister claims there are 10,000 unoccupied places in preschools throughout the country. However, there are also huge waiting lists and, in fact, there are 4,396 children on waiting lists for child care places in other locations. Although I agree there is capacity in certain areas, how will the Minister address the capacity issues in other areas? Will he consider introducing a new capital grant scheme to ensure the service providers will be able to provide the necessary capacity in areas where currently there is not the required capacity?

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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If I run over a little in my reply, I hope the Ceann Comhairle will indulge me because a couple of very important points have been raised.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sorry but I cannot allow that. It affects everybody else, which is what people do not realise.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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That is fair enough. The issue of quality, which was mentioned by the Deputy, is very important. Additional money has been put into the learner fund and many other initiatives around Síolta have been put in place. Quality is very important to us because we know that a poor quality school or preschool service can have an adverse effect on children, so it has to be of high quality to give better outcomes and better futures.

I am perfectly satisfied that there is adequate funding for next year. That is the way the scheme is designed. There would not be the full drawdown of the €180 million to which Deputy Troy alluded, which in fact is €175 million. The one figure I would dispute with the Deputy is the restored capitation cost of €11 million because as far as I know that is more in the region of €5 million to €6 million. However, given that the funding will not be available until September there is not a full year cost. In both instances there is ample funding for next year and the Estimates for the following year will have to pick it up and as the economy continues to recover that is a commitment the Government has made in terms of having a five-year plan, if re-elected. I hope any subsequent Government would honour the commitment because this is a critically important area.

The final point is on disability. It is intended that those with special needs can avail of the fund this year because that is a concern I have.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister did not address capacity.