Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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358. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the first-year and full-year cost of increasing the capitation grant for the free preschool year by €5 per week, bringing it to €67.50 per child, and by €9.50 for the higher capitation grant, bringing it to €82.50 per child. [41786/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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At present, children qualify for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme when they are within the qualifying age range which is 3 years and 2 months to 4 years and 7 months in the September of the relevant year.

The recent Budget decisions, which introduced an extended provision under the ECCE programme that allows children to access the free pre-school programme from the time they are 3 years of age until they start primary school, come into effect from September 2016. This extended provision, when fully rolled out, will mean that children will have access to free education - either in pre-school or primary school - from the age of three.

The start up date for the introduction of this new measure was decided so as to allow pre-school providers an adequate timeframe to make any necessary infrastructural or service changes and to put in place extra staff resources to accommodate the additional numbers benefitting from the programme, which is estimated to increase from 67,000 to 127,000 in a given programme year. The extension to this programme will cost an additional €47 million in 2016. The full year additional costs of this extended programme will be in the region of €114 million. These costs already include a restoration of capitation fees to pre-2012 levels with effect from September 2016 (i.e. €64.50 basic capitation fee and €75 higher capitation fee per child per week).

Increasing the basic and higher capitation fees further to €67.50 and €82.50 per child per week respectively is estimated to cost an additional €6 million in 2016 and €20 million in 2017. These estimates assume 33 per cent of children are attending higher capitation services (as is currently the case).

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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359. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his views on the case of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick regarding the Early Childhood Care and Education programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41805/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is implemented by my Department and provides free pre-school for children before they commence primary school.

Parents of a child with special needs can make an application to my Department for an exemption which will allow the child to access the ECCE programme over a two year period. My Department has not received any application for an exemption in respect of this child and I understand that officials in my Department have contacted the pre-school provider who will make the parents aware of the application procedures in this matter.