Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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571. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans to extend the early childhood care and education scheme and introduce a full second year of free pre-school care and education as part of the programme, with the option of spreading the entitlement out over the course of a number of subsequent years in the case of children who have special needs; if this is the case, his plans to introduce such a measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41923/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Early Childhood Care and Education programme was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. Approximately 68,000 children are availing of the provision in the current academic year.The free pre-school provision represents an annual investment of approximately €175 million and this funding has been maintained despite the challenging budgetary situation.

There is no provision under the ECCE programme to provide for a second free pre-school year for any child. However, the programme includes a number of additional provisions to take account of children with special needs. These include an exemption from the upper age limit for qualification under the programme where a child is developmentally delayed and would benefit from starting primary school at a later age. In addition, children with special needs can apply to have the pre-school year split over two years on a pro-rata basis, for example availing of the programme for 2 days a week in the first year and for 3 days a week in the second year. Application for these exemptions must be made prior to the child commencing the programme.

The introduction of a second pre-school year would require considerable additional funding, broadly in line with the cost of the current one-year provision. This additional funding is not currently available due to the financial constraints under which the Government is operating. In addition, all of the available evidence indicates that the quality of the pre-school provision is key to good outcomes for children. The Early Years Quality Agenda that is being progressed by my Department, and which involves a range of actions in key areas aimed at improving quality within early years services and enhancing the regulatory regime, is a key building block for any further extension of universal childcare provision.

Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures,the national policy framework for children and young people 2014-2020, recognises the value of early childhood care and education in supporting children's early cognitive, social and emotional development, and the Government is committed to the introduction of a second free pre-school year within the lifetime of the framework once the required quality standards are achieved and subject to the availability of resources. My Department and I will be keeping this commitment under review in the context of the progress of the Early Years Quality Agenda.