Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will examine the operation of the early childhood care and education scheme which allows payment for three hours a day for tuition but nothing for planning the practical detail and implementation of the curriculum for the children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9899/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme was introduced in January 2010 and provides for one free pre-school year for all eligible children in the year before commencing primary school. The Government has made a very significant commitment in maintaining the pre-school year on a universal and free basis despite the current budgetary situation. The universal nature of this programme is critical for childhood development by providing every child with early learning and preparation for school.

The objective of the ECCE programme is to make early learning in a formal setting available to eligible children in the year before they commence primary school. Services participating in the programme are required to promote age-appropriate activities and programmes. The payment made to a service is for the provision of services, including preparatory and supportive work such as engagement with parents, training and organisation.

Issues relating to workforce development, curricular support and capitation, will be considered as part of Ireland's first-ever Early Years strategy, work on which is at an advanced stage.

Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will consider re-instating the choice for parents of extending the early childhood care and education scheme to 50 weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9901/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme was introduced in January 2010, and a number of transitional measures were included to make it more acceptable to the childcare sector. One of these measures related to the number of weeks over which the free pre-school year could be provided. At that time, approximately 30% of children in the relevant age-cohort were in full daycare. Therefore, in order to facilitate full daycare services in the early years of the programme, services were permitted to choose between providing a 38 week or a 50 week model.

I should emphasise that the ECCE programme is designed as an educational programme for children. It was always intended, once the programme had bedded-down, to introduce a standard 38 week model. This is primarily because this is the optimal model in terms of ensuring a high-quality early years experience for pre-school children. The Síolta and Aistear frameworks were developed to support this objective. The ECCE programme is designed to be delivered across 38 weeks. It is difficult to see how the curriculum can be delivered across a 50 week period when the children spend less time (generally 2 hours 15 minutes per day) availing of it.

My focus is on improving the quality of childcare services. For this reason, therefore, services participating in the ECCE programme are now required to provide the programme on the basis of 3 hours per day, 5 days per week, over 38 weeks. It is not mandatory that children attend every day but, where they do not, the capitation fee is reduced accordingly.

The change to the 38 week model only was introduced in September 2012 and all participating services have successfully made the transition to the new arrangement. There are no proposals to re-introduce the 50 week model.