Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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678. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children under three years of age her Department estimates will take up both private and community crèche-based child care in September 2017; and the number of children under three years of age that attended both private and community crèche-based services from September 2016 to date in 2017. [24762/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Data on the number of children attending centre-based early years services is gathered by Pobal annually through the Early Years Sector Profile. The most recent available data are from April 2016. At that time, it was estimated that approximately 38,000 children under-3 were attending centre-based early years services.

The figures for 2017 will become available in the coming months, when this year’s data has been gathered and analysed. While there may be a change in the number of under-3s in centre-based early years services, it is not anticipated that the change will be large.

It is expected that the vast majority of children under three years of age who will benefit from the new universal subsidy provided under the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme in September will be children who are already participating in centre-based early years services.

It should be noted that, in addition to those children who benefit from the new universal subsidy from September, some children under three years of age will benefit from targeted subsidies within the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme or from one of the Training and Employment Childcare Schemes.

It should also be noted that the universal subsidy available from September will not only be open to children under three years of age but also to children who are 3 years of age already but who, because of their date of birth, do not yet qualify for free pre-school provided under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.