Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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37. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if measures are being taken to ensure that all children, irrespective of their date of birth, can avail of the early childhood care and education scheme programme for two years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23042/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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In Budget 2016, my Department announced a significant expansion to preschool provision under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. This measure, which will be introduced from September 2016, means that children will be eligible to start free pr-school when they reach the age of 3, and continue to avail of free preschool until they start primary school (once the child is not older than 5 years and 6 months at the end of the pre-school year i.e. end June). Following the introduction of the expanded programme there will be three opportunities each year - in September, January and April - for eligible children to enrol for the free pre-school provision. This will ensure that children aged 3 or over have the opportunity to enrol as soon as possible after their third birthday. The maximum number of free pre-school weeks to which a child is entitled will depend on their date of birth, and the age at which they start primary school. As the Deputy will appreciate, the fact that the school year starts in September means that not all children will necessarily be able to avail of two full years after turning three, and prior to starting school; but on average, from September 2016, children will benefit from 61 weeks, up from the current provision of 38 weeks. The extension of ECCE on this basis was a recommendation of "right from the Start", the Expert Advisory Groups on the Early Years Strategy 2017.

The expansion of the ECCE programme is a major development that will see the number of children benefitting from the Programme rise from around 67,000 to around 127,000 in a given programme year. For the 2016/17 programme year, it is estimated that 89,500 children will be eligible to enrol in the Programme from September 2016, an additional 22,000 from January 2017 and a further 15,500 from April 2017.

The upper age limit for participation in free pre-school was set by the Interdepartmental Group on Future Investment in Childcare on foot of advice received from the Department of Education and Skills. As the Deputy will be aware, limiting the diversity in age ranges in primary school is considered to be generally in the best interest of children, in relation to peer interaction in junior infants, as well as other educational considerations. This does mean that different children will spend different lengths of time in free pre-school, but my Department's focus throughout in considering these issues has been on how to achieve the best outcomes for children.