Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 16: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if a community child care facility can charge parents for two week summer camps under the new early childhood care and education programme, which it is prohibited from charging for under the subvention scheme; if such a facility can charge for ECCE type programmes and child care for additional weeks beyond the 38 week proposed scheme; the position regarding private facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23197/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware I have responsibility for the implementation of the free Pre-School year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme, which will come into operation in January next, and for the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) which was introduced in January 2008. Under the ECCE children will be able to avail of a free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in the year before they commence primary school. Participating children must, normally be aged between 3 years 3 months and 4 years 6 months on 1st September of each year. Over 4,800 private and voluntary pre-school services which are notified to the Health Service Executive (HSE) or registered with the Irish Montessori Educational Board (IMEB) have been invited to participate in the ECCE and provide Pre-School Year places to qualifying children from January 2010.

Services can choose to deliver the Pre-School Year from a range of options. A full or part-time daycare service will normally provide the place for 2 hours 15 minutes a day, five days a week over 50 weeks, in return for a weekly capitation fee of €48.50. A playschool sessional service will normally be required to provide a pre-school service for 3 hours a day, five days a week over 38 weeks, in return for a weekly capitation fee of €64.50. However, where for good reason a sessional service is unable to operate over 5 days, it may participate in the scheme by providing a place for 3 hours 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week over 41 weeks.

Further flexibility is provided for in that, a full or part-time service may choose to provide a sessional service over 38 weeks of a year (or 2 sessional services each day) while a sessional service may choose to provide 2 hours 15 minutes per day over 50 weeks. Also in cases where children attend a full or part-time daycare service for 3 days a week only, consideration will be given to allowing the service to participate in the scheme on the basis of providing the pre-school year to those children for 3 hours 45 mins a day for 3 days a week. In such cases, a service will be required to provide the pre-school year over 50 weeks.

In all cases, participating services must operate the relevant pre-school provision free to parents in return for the applicable capitation grant. It is open to services participating in the ECCE to provide additional services to parents which can be charged for, including additional hours or summer camps as referred to by the Deputy, provided these are clearly optional.

Funding is also available to community not for profit pre-school services, under the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS), and a community service can participate in both the CCSS and the ECCE. Services participating in the CCSS are grant aided to enable them to charge reduced childcare fees to disadvantaged and low income families. Services funded under the CCSS may operate and charge fees for summer camps in the same way that they operate and charge fees for their general service, that is that any funding they have received to subvent the fees of disadvantaged and low income parents is used for that purpose.