Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 531: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of children in County Clare currently receiving a pre-school education which is funded by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4821/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The vast majority of support for childcare, including pre-school education, is not provided by my Department, but rather by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP).

This Government has provided unprecedented levels of funding for childcare in recent years. €499.3 million was allocated to the EOCP 2000-2006 and some 41,000 places will have been created by the time the programme finishes.

Going forward, childcare provision will continue to attract substantial investment under the new National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010. €575m has been allocated to the new programme, which will be administered by the Office of the Minister for Children and aims to provide a proactive response to the development of quality childcare services by supporting the creation of an additional 50,000 places. 20% of these places will be for pre-school children.

In relation to my Department's involvement in pre-school education in County Clare, this is limited to one pre-school for Traveller children in which there are currently 20 children enrolled and funding for four pre-school children diagnosed with autism under the home tuition scheme. The Deputy may wish to contact the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform for details of the number of children in pre-school provision supported by the EOCP in Clare.