Written answer
Early Childhood Care and Education
2856. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the percentage of children with birth dates in January 2022 who availed of the ECCE scheme and who completed two years of the scheme; how this compares to children born in 2022 as a whole; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60301/26]
Comment on this
The current ECCE Programme Rules state that children born between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022 are eligible for ECCE start dates of August 2025 and the second year beginning August 2026, with their final ECCE year ending in July 2027.
ECCE is based on a programme year, which for the 2026/27 ECCE programme begins on the 24th of August 2026 and runs until 2nd of July 2027. Please note that registrations for the 2026/27 ECCE programme year remains open.
ECCE is not a mandatory programme, and it is a parental decision whether a child completes the full two years when eligible.
The percentage of children with birth dates in January 2022 who availed of the ECCE scheme and who completed two years of the scheme; A total of 4,935 children born in January 2022 participated in their first year of ECCE during the 2025/26 programme year. Of these aforementioned children, 1,096 (22.2%) currently have an approved registration for their second ECCE year in the 2026/27 programme year.
How this compares to children born in 2022 as a whole, overall, 53,418 children born in 2022, including those born in January, participated in their first year of ECCE during the 2025/26 programme year. Of these 53,418 children, 21,701 (40.6%) currently have an approved registration for their second ECCE year in the 2026/27 programme year.
As of 17 August 2026, approved ECCE registrations for the 2026/27 programme year represent approximately 40-45% of the volumes expected overall for the entire programme year. Consequently, the percentages outlined above for the 2026/27 ECCE programme year are provisional and are expected to increase as additional children are registered. These figures should therefore not be interpreted as reflecting final Year 2 ECCE uptake for the 2026/27 programme year.
All the above information has been provided by the ECCE Scheme Administrator, Pobal on 17/08/2026.