Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 674: To ask the Minister for Education and Science, further to Parliamentary Question No. 251 of 12 March 2009, if he will forward the required information, in view of the fact that it is one month since this parliamentary question was asked; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15344/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, Government investment in Early Years education is taking place through the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth affairs. The recent budget announcement concerning the provision of pre-school places for children in the year prior to their enrolment in primary schools reinforces this commitment.

Within my Department, the main interventions to date have been in the areas of disadvantage and in the area of special needs. The Early Start programme is the main intervention programme for children in disadvantaged areas. There are also segregated pre-schools for Traveller children which are grant aided by my Department.

The enrolments and costs (excluding salary costs) in providing the Early Start programme are shown below. The teachers who teach in Early Start units are assigned by the individual school and my Department does not collect individual data on the teachers employed in the Early Start programme. Specific salary costs cannot therefore be provided. The estimated cost of the programme including salary costs is €6.2 m in 2009.

The funding provided by my Department for segregated Traveller pre-schools in the years in question is shown below.

In the area of special needs my Department provides funding for the following interventions: - 36 early intervention classes for children with autism - 13 centres participating in a pilot scheme which enrol children with autism of pre-school age - Home tuition hours for 225 children of preschool age 2.5 - 4 years.

Exact enrolment figures are not available for the years in question. At the moment, my Department does not account separately for the pre-school sector in the area of special needs and a cost breakdown is not available.