Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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704. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department actively encourages childcare facilities to run the ECCE programme both in the mornings and afternoons. [16726/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides for children to participate in a universal preschool programme for 15 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year for the two years prior to beginning primary school. It is a very successful programme with an estimated participation of 95% of children in the eligible age range.

Some early learning and childcare services provide just the ECCE programme, whereas others provide ECCE as well as providing a longer duration of service. Some providers offer both morning and afternoon ECCE sessions. As early learning and childcare is delivered by independent providers, in both the private and community sectors, the types of services offered and the hours during which they are offered are matters for individual providers.