Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 236: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of early start programmes running; the locations at which early start is available, and the criteria for deciding where it is offered; the amount expended on Early Start since 1997; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38442/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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. The aims of Early Start are to expose young children to an educational programme which would enhance their overall development, prevent school failure and offset the effects of social disadvantage. The total number of places available in Early Start centres has been 1,680 in each year since 1996, the first full year of operation, with the funding provided supporting this number of places on a year to year basis. The provision involved for 2005 is €5 million.

The Early Start programme referred to by the Deputy is a pre-school intervention programme targeted at three to four year old children in areas of social disadvantage. With this programme, young children can experience an educational programme to enhance their overall development, to help prevent school failure and to help offset the effects of social disadvantage.

Targeted early childhood education provision will be a key element of the new action plan for educational inclusion DEIS, delivering equality of opportunity in schools, the objective in relation to early childhood education is to concentrate actions on those children aged from three up to school enrolment who will subsequently attend urban-town primary schools serving the most disadvantaged communities. On a phased basis, the 150 urban-town primary school communities serving communities with the highest concentrations of disadvantage will be provided with access to early education for children aged from three up to school enrolment who will subsequently attend these primary schools. The action plan will be implemented on a phased basis over the next five years and my Department's approach will be to work in partnership with other Departments and agencies to complement and add value to existing child care programmes in disadvantaged communities with a view to ensuring that the overall care and education needs of the children concerned are met in an integrated manner.