Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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686. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she plans to take regarding the anomaly that exists in the ECCE scheme further to correspondence (details supplied); the timeframe in which she plans to have this matter examined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37204/18]

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 two full programme years on the Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE), and the number of entry points reverted to one from that date. This measure enhances the previous provision, and increases 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 further expansion delivers on a commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government that is good for children, families and Early Years providers.

The practical provision of a 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 law in this country with regard to school starting age and the associated policy of the Department of Education and Skills. This minimum age was chosen based on national experience and a review of international practice. It also had regard to the regulatory environment for early years care and education in this country and issues such as child development readiness and adult-child ratios. The upper age limit will remain the same (i.e. a child is not eligible if they reach the age of 5 years and 6 months before the end of the programme year).

This new measure addresses the previous situation with three entry points (September, January and April) which gave rise to a significant fluctuation in the number of free preschool weeks a child could avail of (between 61 and 88 weeks depending on the date of birth of the child). A single entry point will ensure a programme that is equitable in terms of entitlement for all children and helps streamline the administration process, making it easier for childcare providers to operate and budget for the programme year and making it easier for parents to secure places on the ECCE programme for their children.

As with any large scheme at national level, clear rules are required to ensure transparency and objectivity in administration. It is a feature of administrative schemes that where cut off points relate to age and birth dates, the age parameters may not suit some applicants. In this regard it should 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 only one year of the programme for various reasons. For example, some parents of children born in the first quarter of the year, may prefer for their child to start school at 4 years of age rather than 5. These parents may therefore opt for 1 year of ECCE only.

I accept that the use of age limits in a scheme such as this creates a situation whereby a child can fall just outside the age range. My Department has no immediate plans to revise the ECCE lower age limit beyond the changes already introduced in September 2018. A consideration of any future change would need to have regard to a wide range of issues as to what is in the best interests of all of the children participating in the scheme.