Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 48: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if expansion of the early start programme is under consideration for the remainder of 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25743/06]

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if additional places will be provided on the early start programme over the remainder of 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25744/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 112 together.

The Early Start pre-school project operates in 40 primary schools in designated areas of urban disadvantage in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Drogheda and Dundalk. There are 1,680 places in these centres.

Targeted early childhood education provision is a key element of the School Support Programme (SSP) under the new action plan for educational inclusion DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), which provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage.

As a result of the identification process, 840 schools have been invited to participate in the new Programme. These comprise 640 primary schools (320 urban/town schools and 320 rural schools) and 200 second-level schools.

The objective in relation to early childhood education is to concentrate actions initially on those children aged from three up to school enrolment, who will subsequently attend the 180 urban/town primary schools serving the most disadvantaged communities. My Department will 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. The Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education will provide advice on the future development and direction of pre-school measures for children in disadvantaged communities and the findings of a number of evaluation reports on Early Start prepared by the Education Research Centre will be taken into account in this regard.

In December 2005, the Office of the Minister for Children was established to maximise the co-ordination of policies for children and young people and will have a range of functions previously under the Departments of Health and Children; Justice Equality and Law Reform; and Education and Science. A new Early Years Education Policy Unit has been established within my Department and will be co-located with the Office of the Minister for Children. This Unit will oversee the preparation of plans for phased implementation of the early childhood education dimension of DEIS in the targeted school communities, starting in the next school year, and this will be pursued within an overall strategic policy framework developed by the Office of the Minister for Children.