Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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544. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a person (details supplied) can avail of the early childhood care and education scheme in September 2018; if consideration is being given to the reintroduction of three enrolment points to facilitate greater flexibility and accessibility to families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17695/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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From September 2018, all children meeting the minimum age requirement of 2 years and 8 months will be eligible for a full two programme years on the Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE). This measure refines the development introduced last year, whereby three intake dates were adopted, and will increase the duration of each registered child on ECCE from a current average of 61 weeks, to a potential duration of 76 weeks (two programme years).

This new measure will address the situation whereby there was a wide range in the number of free preschool weeks a child could avail of – between 61 and 88 weeks – and will ensure a programme that is equitable for all children.

This further enhancement delivers fully on a commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government that is good for children, families and Early Years providers. The second year of ECCE required either an increase in the upper age limit for ECCE, or a reduction in the lower age limit. The latter was chosen and is consistent with the legislative requirement with regard to school start age.

The number of entry points will revert to one at the beginning of the programme year (September). One enrolment period at the start of the pre-school year will help streamline the administration process and will make it easier for childcare providers to operate and budget for the programme year. This will also make it easier for parents to secure places on the ECCE programme for their children.

In the example cited by the Deputy the child will not be able to commence their ECCE in September 2018 as they will not have reached the age of 2 years and 8 months on or before 31st August 2018. However, they will be able to commence ECCE in September 2019, continue for a further year from September 2020 and commence school in September 2021.

It must be noted that parents have the discretion to decide how much of ECCE to avail of for their child. A decision may be made to utilise one year only of the programme for various reasons. For example, depending on the child's date of birth, parents may wish to send their child to school at 4 rather than 5 years of age.

At a broader level, I announced on the 6th December 2017 that I have put a pause on the decision to remove the ECCE over age exemption so that further consultation with parents can occur. Until the consultation is complete, and both the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Education and Skills have time to consider its findings, the overage exemption will continue to be available. In practice, this means that my Department is continuing to accept and approve applications for the September 2018/2019 ECCE year.