Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will reply to previous correspondence (details supplied) regarding the early childhood care and education scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8827/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The correspondence referred to by the Deputy concerns the free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme which is being implemented by my Office since January of this year. The letter in question was received by my Office in December 2009 and was responded to earlier this month.

As the Deputy is aware, the scheme is open to children who are aged more than 3 years and 2 months and less than 4 years 7 months at 1 September each year. This means that children born between 2 February 2005 and 30 June 2006 qualified for the free pre-school provision in January this year and children born between 2 February 2006 and 30 June 2007 will qualify for the free pre-school provision in September 2010. While the majority of children commence school between the age of 4 years 6 months and 5 years 6 months, it is accepted that some parents choose to send their children to primary school at an earlier age and the ECCE scheme allows for children to attend the pre-school year and still commence primary school when they are just over 4 years 2 months of age.

However, the objective of the scheme is to make early learning in a formal setting available to all children in the key developmental year before they commence primary school, with appropriate age related activities and programmes being provided to children within a particular age cohort. Targeting the pre-school year at a particular age cohort is, therefore, fundamental to the scheme and for this reason minimum and maximum limits to the age range within which children will participate in the scheme each year have been set. I am satisfied that the age range which has been set achieves a reasonable balance between supporting the provision of age related programmes and activities and providing flexibility to parents and their children.