Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of early education places currently available in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7879/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Early education in Ireland covers the period from birth to six years. Almost all five year olds and half of four year olds attend junior infant and senior infant classes in primary schools. Provision for children below the age of four years is targeted at specific groups. Outside of junior classes in primary schools, my Department's main role in the area of early childhood education encompasses pre-school provision for children from disadvantaged areas, for Traveller children and for those with special needs.

The Early Start pre-school project was established in 40 primary schools in designated areas of urban disadvantage in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Drogheda and Dundalk during 1994 and 1995. There are a total of 1,680 places in early start centres. A review of educational disadvantage programmes is currently being finalised by my Department and the future development of early childhood education provision for disadvantaged children, including Early Start, is being considered in this context. I hope to announce the outcome of this review shortly.

My Department also supports 48 Traveller pre-schools. These schools aim to develop children's cognitive, language and social skills, to prepare children for entry to primary school and to provide a foundation for further learning. In the special needs sector, there are currently 12 pre-school classes for children with autism located throughout the country. In addition to this, eight stand alone autism facilities that provide an applied behavioural analysis, ABA, model of response to children with autism cater for a number of children of pre-school age. My Department has also sanctioned the establishment of a pre-school for six children with hearing impairment, on a pilot basis.

The bulk of pre-school places in the country are financed by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, which has provided unprecedented levels of funding for child care in recent years. The Department of Health and Children also provides grants to child care groups, including to community groups in areas of social and economic disadvantage.