Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 352: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason the Government has failed to honour the commitment in budget 2005 to pay €1000 early child care supplement in 2006 to families with children under six years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33127/06]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Early Childcare Supplement, or ECS, was introduced in Budget 2006. The scheme is under the remit of the Office of the Minister for Children. The administration of the scheme is being undertaken by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, on an agency basis.

The commitment referred to in the question is that given in Budget 2006 to pay €1,000 per year Early Childcare Supplement to families with children aged under six years. In introducing the scheme in his Budget 2006 speech, the Minister for Finance said "this will be a direct payment of €1,000 per year available equally to all parents regardless of their labour force status, for each child up to his or her sixth birthday" specifying that the payments will be made on a quarterly basis and "the first payment will be made in mid-2006 and will cover the second quarter of 2006".

Letters of notification of these payments, clearly stating that the ECS came into effect on 1 April 2006, were issued to all beneficiaries prior to these quarterly payments commencing.