Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the approximate number of persons employed in the pre-school childcare sector; the way this has varied over the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4986/13]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the take up rate for the free pre-school year in early childhood care and education; the way this has varied over the past five years; her plans for developments within this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4988/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 189 together.

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is implemented by my Department and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children in the year before commencing primary school. The programme was introduced in January 2010. Approximately 53,000 children, or 83% of the eligible age cohort, availed of the programme in this first "short" year. In the school year 2010-2011, the first full year of the programme, in the region of 63,000 children, that is approximately 94% of the eligible cohort, availed of the free pre-school provision. In the school year 2011-2012 in the region of 66,000 children, or approximately 93% of the eligible cohort, availed of the programme.

In the current school year 2012-2013, some 66,000 children have enrolled for the free pre-school provision at this time and this figure may increase as eligible children can still enter the programme. It is not possible, from the information available to me, to determine the percentage of the eligible cohort that this figure represents, but it is again anticipated this figure will be well in excess of 90%.

Pobal, which administers the childcare support programmes on behalf of my Department, compiles an Annual Survey of the Early Years Sector. According to its 2011 Annual Survey, there are in the region of 4,300 childcare services participating in the ECCE programme and approximately 3,133 of these services responded to the question relating to the number of staff employed. The results, which did not distinguish between those working with children enrolled for the ECCE programme and other children in the childcare service, show that some 17,123 staff in the 3,133 services that responded were working directly with children.

Prior to 2011, the Pobal survey was compiled on the basis of responses from services funded under the National Childcare Investment Programme and the Community Childcare Subvention Programme, and was part of the contractual requirement of its recipients. In 2011, however, the questionnaire was circulated to a wider group of early years services to include all services participating in the Early Childhood Care and Education programme and in the Childcare Education and Training Support Programme. In addition, the questionnaire was presented to recipients as a piece of research rather than a contractual requirement. This change in methodology (the distribution to much larger numbers, the move to anonymous completion and the removal of the contractual obligation to complete the questionnaire) means that the results are not comparable with previous years.