James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 149: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the funding which is available to assist a person (details supplied) in County Longford to meet the cost of the continued running of a Montessori school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36470/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I have responsibility for the implementation of the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010 (NCIP) as well as the new free Pre-School year of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme, which is being introduced from January next. The NCIP provides capital grant funding for the development and refurbishment of childcare services as well as support funding for community based childcare services, under the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS), to enable them to charge reduced childcare fees to disadvantaged and low income working parents. Capital expenditure over the course of the NCIP is expected to amount to approximately €190 million and create over 25,000 additional childcare places. I regret to advise the Deputy that, due to the economic turndown, the capital programme closed to new applicants in April of this year.

The new ECCE scheme will allow qualifying children to avail of a free pre-school place in the year before they commence primary school. In January 2010, the scheme is open to private and community based pre-school services which are notified to the Health Service Executive (HSE) or registered with the Irish Montessori Educational Board (IMEB). Services which choose to participate in the scheme, will receive grant funding from my Office based on a capitation fee of €2,450 per annum for each qualifying child. In return, the service will be required to provide appropriate programme based activities as part of the free pre-school year. Full details of the scheme, including the terms and conditions which will apply, are available on my Office's website at www.omcya.ie.

Following the announcement of the scheme in April of this year, my Office wrote to pre-school services operating in the State, inviting them to apply in respect of the period January to August 2010. Where a service did not apply to enter the scheme in January 2010, but wishes to do so from September 2010, it will have an opportunity to apply in early 2010.