Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 458: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on changes to the scheme to provide a free pre-school year of early childhood care and education in order to allow for situations in rural areas where parents are not available to participate in the scheme five days a week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31208/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

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 Care and Education (ECCE) to eligible children and which will be introduced in January 2010. Services can choose to deliver the Pre-School Year from a range of options. A full or part-time day-care 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, 4 days a week over 41 weeks (157 days).

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 two 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 day-care 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 minutes a day for 3 days a week. In such cases, a service will be required to provide the pre-school year over 50 weeks.