Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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I wish to highlight the changes in the early childhood care and education scheme that are scheduled for introduction in September and issues and concerns that have been brought to my attention by many parents and childcare providers who have contacted me in recent months. They are deeply concerned and believe the system is unjust and needs to be revised.

We all agree that early childhood is a time of great opportunity for learning and development. In these early years, children learn through discussion, exploration and play. Much work has been done to develop Aistear, the early childhood curriculum framework, to assist parents, early years educators and care providers to create enjoyable and challenging learning experiences which allow children to grow and develop as competent and confident learners. This is a very valuable programme. I have seen the level of work and preparation that our childcare providers and teachers of junior infants put into this programme to make it such a success. It is certainly working.

Undoubtedly, a child's early years development is substantially enriched by activities which nurture well-being, identity and belonging, communication, exploration and thinking. The Department's early childhood care scheme, which provides access to such early childhood care and education for children of preschool age, was well received. It has enriched the universally available offerings in community childcare settings across the State. However, the proposed changes in September will compel some children to enter the programme too early while denying others their right to start when ready to do so. That is far from child-centred. We are moving away from a child-centred approach to an approach that is unworkable and will disadvantage children.

The issues here arise as a result of two factors. The first is the reduction from three entry points each year to just one. The second is the reduction in age eligibility from three years to two years and eight months. Until now, the scheme has provided for three intakes, namely, in January, April and September. Children who became eligible entered the scheme at the enrolment point closest to their birthday. My consultations with parents, childcare providers and the county childcare committee, suggest that there were no particular logistical issues arising from this rolling system. They were quite satisfied with the system and felt it was working well. A very small minority questioned the value to children of the April intake because it was so close to the summer recess but all reported that the January and September intakes worked well and were flawless.

The proposed change to introduce a single point of entry only, in September, has caused great concern to parents and childcare providers alike.

The current arrangements will deny many children who will become eligible after enrolment access. They will be obliged to wait it out until the following September. Children will be affected in varying degrees, depending on their birth dates. Some children may have a significant loss of entitlement below the 76 weeks provided for over the course of their preschool years.

The second issue arises from the reduction in age from three years to two years and eight months. This has implications for childcare providers because many children in this age bracket are not yet fully toilet-trained. Concerns will arise in this context if childcare facilities are not co-located with full day-care facilities. The universal opinion of those with whom I have spoken is that three years is the optimum age for entering preschool. There is anecdotal evidence that children aged two years and eight months are being enrolled even though they are not ready. It is unsatisfactory that parents have to do this. However, they feel they have no alternative. These issues need to be addressed.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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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.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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While I thank the Minister for her response, I have to say it has not clarified the situation. She said that a substantial number of complaints about the three entry points have been received. Like many other Deputies, I have heard differently. I accept that a small minority of providers expressed the view that the April intake could be disruptive. Many childcare providers and the parents have been calling for the retention of the other two entry points. They feel it is unfair to retain the September entry point only. I would like to know how many complaints about this aspect have been received by the Department. I do not feel that such complaints reflect the reality. My constituency office has been inundated with complaints about this measure. I know other Deputies feel the same way.

The Department has estimated that there will be an intake of 114,000 under the ECCE programme in September. If the Minister is committed to the delivery of a child-centred scheme, it is incumbent on her to ensure that no child's access to and participation in the scheme is disadvantaged by virtue of his or her date of birth. I ask the Minister to review the scheme before September. I think it would be fair for her to assure us that no child will lose his or her place on this scheme, which has worked well, because of his or her date of birth. We want to move forward and make sure we are doing our best for all children in our society. I feel this change will have a negative impact. I think it will undo all the great progress that has been made through this scheme in recent years. It is very unfair to impose a single entry point if it means children will lose out on this valuable scheme. I ask the Minister to carry out a review. People across the State have problems with the proposed enrolment dates for this scheme.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I appreciate the commitment and passion with which the Deputy has expressed her views on these issues. She is committed to doing her job as a public representative in the best possible manner. She stated that a number of providers have contacted her to express their view that at least two of the intake times have been working well and without administrative difficulties. She also indicated that other Deputies received similar representations. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has based its decision on the representations it received from providers and parents regarding the difficulties that are being encountered in administering the scheme, for example, with regard to the three entry points. In particular, it was mentioned that there was often a lack of places by the time the third entry point was reached. Our position on the appropriate time for a child to begin preschool is based on international best practice and research. We engage in ongoing monitoring as part of our efforts to make the best possible policy and procedural decisions for parents and children.

The Deputy asked for a review, but I assure her that the decisions we make are reviewed and monitored, in effect, on an ongoing basis. The Department will review the issue that has been raised by the Deputy, particularly her indication that a number of people have expressed concern about a lack of fairness. One of the reasons we decided to make a change to the ECCE scheme was in order to facilitate an increase in the number of weeks for which children can enjoy this opportunity. Indeed, we are very committed to fairness. This scheme is child-centred. I recommend that the Deputy, and any other Deputies she knows of who share her concerns, should provide me and the Department with details of the representations to which she has alluded. We will take a look at them to see whether the decision we have made should be revisited in light of the significant number of people who, according to the Deputy, are saying this will not work.