Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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709. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing by 15% funding for the access inclusion model. [18227/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The 2020 allocated budget for the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is €43 million.

This funding covers the cost of the seven levels of AIM, which encompass a range of both universal and targeted measures. The majority of this funding, €26 million, is for Level 7 Additional Assistance. This Level 7 funding is intended to facilitate either the recruitment of additional staff or to compensate services for a reduction in the adult-to-child ratio in the pre-school room, supporting the meaningful participation of all children in the room in the ECCE universal pre-school programme.

A 15% increase in funding for the overall Access and Inclusion Model would cost an additional €6.45 million per annum, bringing the total budget allocation to €49.45 million per annum.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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710. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing the higher and lower capitation grants by €5, €6, €7, €8, €9 and €10, respectively, by week, for the ECCE scheme in 2019 if it is introduced in September 2020; and the estimated full-year cost. [18228/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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€297m euro has been allocated to the Early Childhood Care and Education programme in 2020; the proposed increases in the Deputy’s question have been built upon this year’s allocation.

The Early Childhood Care and Education programme runs for 38 weeks each programme year. The standard capitation rate paid to providers is €69 per child, per week. The higher capitation rate paid to services is €80.25 per child, per week. The programme currently provides 15 hours of free childcare per week.

Under the current ECCE payment calendar breakdown below, there are sixteen payable weeks in the period between September and December. The first table displays the projected 2020 financial impact of increasing the capitation rates from the beginning of the 2020/2021 programme year.

While AIM Level 7 is awarded on a weekly basis €195 per week, the underlying basis for this figure is the cost of ECCE capitation for 3 children. If a €5 increase in ECCE capitation was required, there may be a need for a corresponding 6.7 % increase in AIM Level 7 costs.

2020 allocated funding for the AIM Level 7 supports are set at €26m based on current AIM level 7 projected applications and approvals.

The following tables captures the impacts that the outlined increases, based on a pro ratad and corresponding percentage increase, would have to the estimated allocation for AIM Level 7 support costs for the period September to December 2020 (table a) and for a full year ECCE programme from September (table b).

Table a.