Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The ECCE programme is available to all children within the eligible age range. A child must have reached 2 years and 8 months of age on or prior to 31 August of the relevant programme year to be eligible for the 1st September start date.

The minimum eligibility age for the ECCE programme was revised in September 2018 when it was reduced from 3 years to 2 years and 8 months. The revised minimum of 2 years and 8 months was chosen based on national experience and a review of international practice.

I accept that the use of age limits in a scheme such as ECCE creates a situation whereby a child can fall just outside the age range, however, my Department has to place an age cut-off at a point, and in the interests of fairness and consistency there can be no discretion in this regard.

In 2023, I appointed Stranmillis University College, Belfast to undertake an independent review of the ECCE programme. The review was designed to assess whether the ECCE programme is meeting its core objectives and to identify any opportunities for enhancements that can be made to the programme, based on international evidence and experience to date.

The final report of the Review is complete and I will now consider the findings from the Review and consider any policy changes that may need to be made to the ECCE programme.

A report of the findings from the Review will be published in the coming months.

With regard to further supports available, my Department also funds the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) which provides financial support to help families with their early learning and childcare costs.

There are two types of subsidies available for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years of age, a Universal subsidy which is not means tested and provides €1.40 per hour for a maximum of 45 hours per week and an Income Assessed subsidy. An Income Assessed subsidy is means tested and will be calculated based on a family’s individual circumstances. Income Assessed subsidies range from €1.40 to €5.10 depending on a family’s reckonable income and child’s educational status. A subsidy calculator is available on the NCS website, which will help parents estimate how much they may be eligible for before they apply.

Further information on the NCS, including instructions on how to apply, can be found on www.ncs.gov.ie