Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the conditions for enrolment in the free preschool year for the current school year; her estimate of the numbers enrolled and if there are any plans for change in the context of the four-year budgetary plan. [44616/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme, which was introduced in January 2010, is implemented by my Office.

Children are eligible for the ECCE scheme when they are aged between 3 years and 3 months and 4 years and 6 months on 1 September of the relevant year. As this is interpreted broadly, children were eligible in September 2010 if they were born on or between 2 February 2006 and 30 June 2007 and children will be eligible in September 2011 if they were born on or between 2 February 2007 and 30 June 2008. In January 2010, 53,000 children availed of the scheme. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that this figure increased to 63,000 children in September 2010, the first full year of the scheme. This represents a participation rate of 94% of children in the year before primary school.