Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 236: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if extra pre-school hours will be assigned to a child (details supplied) in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24993/09]

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 is being introduced from January next.

The scheme will allow qualifying children to avail of a free pre-school place in the year before they commence primary school. It has been designed to provide children with access to an appropriate level and quantity of programme based activities over the course of the year, which is reflected in the requirement that 3 hours a day, 5 days a week over 38 weeks is provided in the case of sessional playschool services, and 2 hours, 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week over 50 weeks is provided in the case of full or part-time daycare services. Children will qualify in respect of one year's provision.

Participating children must, normally be aged between 3 years 3 months and 4 years 6 months on 1st September of each year. As the child referred to by the Deputy will be almost 4 years and 1 month of age at 1 September 2009, she will be eligible for the pre-school year in January 2010. If the child in question will not commence primary school until a date later than September 2010, due to having been assessed by the HSE as having a special need which makes this appropriate, she can, alternatively, avail of the pre-school year at a later date to coincide with her actual pre-school year.