Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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667. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the childcare supports available to lone parents participating in springboard courses; if she will extend eligibility under childcare education and training supports to those parenting alone who are on springboard courses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8139/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Funding is made available by my Department to support a number of childcare programmes which provide a range of supports to parents of pre-school and after-school children. These programmes include the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, the Childhood Education and Training Support (CETS) programme and the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.

The CCS programme provides funding to community childcare not-for-profit services to enable them to charge reduced childcare rates to parents in receipt of social welfare payments or on low to middle incomes. Parents qualify for support on the basis of their social welfare entitlement or their income status. Parents participating in the Springboard programme can apply for childcare support under the CCS programme if they have a qualifying social welfare entitlement. The City and County Childcare Committees will advise parents of the qualifying criteria and of the community services participating in the CCS programme in their area.

The eligibility criteria for parent participation in the Childhood Education and Training Support (CETS) programme is determined by Solas and the Education Training Boards, which come under the remit of the Department of Education and Skills. The function of my Department is to monitor the take-up of childcare places available to those parents approved for support and to administer the relevant funding. Determining which courses will enable parents to qualify for support under the programme is therefore a matter for the Departments of Social Protection and Education and Skills.

The ECCE programme is a universal programme implemented by my Department which provides one free pre-school year to all eligible children before they commence primary school. Children aged between 3 years and 2 months and 4 years and 7 months in September in the relevant year are eligible to avail of the free pre-school provision.