Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the circumstances in which a school participating in the pre-school scheme may levy additional charges on parents; if extra services associated with core hours may be charged; if schools charge for extra hours over and above core hours; if schools charge for extra curricular activities; if a child qualifies for one year of free pre-school within the age limits, or if they qualify for the entire period once they are within the eligible age categories; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31967/09]

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 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme which provides a free Pre-School year to eligible children and which will be introduced in January 2010. Children will qualify for the free pre-school year where they are aged between 3 years 3 months and 4 years 6 months at the start of each academic year. The application of age range is being interpreted as generously as possible to include children who are aged more than 3 years 2 months and less than 4 years 7 months at 1 September. This will mean that, in January 2010, children born on or after 2 February 2005 or on or before 30 June 2006 will qualify. In September 2010, children born on or after 2 February 2006 or on or before 30 June 2007 will qualify, and so on in subsequent years. Each qualified child will be eligible for one free Pre-School year.

Services participating in the scheme will be required to provide the pre-school year without charge. Full and Part-time services may charge parents for additional services provided they are clearly optional and children not availing of such services continue to receive an appropriate programme based provision.

Also, services may include additional hours. For example, a full daycare service which operates for 50 weeks of the year must provide 2 hours 15 minutes per day free under the scheme, but may charge parents for additional hours availed of. A sessional playschool open 38 weeks of the year may offer parents an additional 30 minutes per day in return for additional fees, as only 3 hours per day will be free under the scheme. It is, however, anticipated that the majority of places availed of under the scheme will be of the standard 3 hours duration, and no charge applying to additional hours will arise in these cases.