Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 241: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the circumstances in which it is envisaged that a private operator in receipt of the capitation grant would be entitled to levy parents with an additional charge under the free pre-school and early childhood scheme; the elements of cost for rent, rates, insurance, staff and so on; the pupil-teacher ratio which has been used in putting together the capitation payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17672/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware I have responsibility for the implementation of the new scheme to provide a free Pre-School year of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) which was announced recently by the Minister of Finance. The Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is being introduced from January 2010 as a free scheme to benefit children in the key developmental period prior to commencing school. Up to 5,000 pre-school services will be invited shortly to participate in the scheme and it is hoped that the majority of these will choose to do so to maximise the availability of free pre-school year places from the earliest possible date.

Services participating in the scheme will be required to provide the pre-school year without charge. Full and part-time services will offer parents additional services for which charges are payable, in that only 2 hours 15 minutes per day will be free under the scheme. A play-school sessional may offer parents an additional 30 minutes per day for which charges are payable as only 3 hours per day will be free under the scheme. Up to 2 hours per day can be provided as an optional extra where a play-school complies with part-time service requirements. All charges made for additional service provision, including additional activities provided on an optional basis, must be agreed to by parents and appropriate programme based activities must be provided to children not participating in any such additional activity.

Almost 5,000 pre-school services operate at present, including full- and part-time daycare services as well as sessional play-school services. The overheads or operational costs of these services vary and there is also a diverse range of fees charged. Almost 1,000 of the pre-school services are not for profit voluntary services participating in the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS), with an average fee charged for sessional play-school of €50 per week. The annual capitation fee of over €2,400 amounts, in the case of a sessional play-school, to €64.50 per week over 38 weeks. For full- and part-time services providing a pre-school year of 2 hours 15 minutes per day, 5 days a week for 50 weeks, the annual capitation fee amounts to €48.50 per week. The capitation fee and its application on a weekly basis are considered reasonable. They also compare very favourably to the capitation fee paid to private and voluntary pre-school services participating in Northern Ireland's Pre-School Programme Expansion Scheme, which amounts to £30 per week.

The Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No. 2) Regulations 2006, provide for a ratio of 1 staff to 8 children in full- or part-time service and a ratio of 1 staff to 10 children in a pre-school sessional service.