Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 297: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason she has not replied to a query (Details Supplied) when this matter was first brought to her attention, if this family can avail of the early childhood care and education scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37713/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I have responsibility for implementing the free Preschool Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme, which provides for a free preschool year to eligible children in the year before they commence primary school.

Children qualify for the free preschool year where they are aged more than 3 years 2 months and less than 4 years 7 months in September of the relevant year. This means that children born between 2 February 2006 and 30 June 2007 are eligible for the free preschool year which commenced in September 2010, and children born between 2 February 2007 and 30 June 2008 will be eligible in September 2011. I understand that the person referred to by the Deputy has a child who will qualify for the ECCE scheme in September 2011 but is outside of the lower age limit for qualification in September 2010. There is no provision under the scheme to enrol children that are below the qualifying age.

The objective of the ECCE scheme is to make early learning in a formal setting available to all children in the year before they commence primary school. Services participating in the preschool year are expected to provide appropriate age related activities and programmes to children within a particular age cohort. It is necessary, therefore, to target the preschool year at a particular age cohort and to set minimum and maximum limits to the age range within which children participate in the scheme. In setting the minimum and maximum age limits, account was taken of a number of factors, including the variation in school admission policies and the fact that the majority of children commence primary school between the ages of 4 years 6 months and 5 years 6 months.

I wish to advise the Deputy that my Office received correspondence in relation to this matter in September this year and a response issued on 11 October 2010.