3102. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the eligibility criteria for a child to participate in the free early childhood care and education scheme; and the hourly or weekly rate payable to providers that deliver service under the scheme. [63886/26]

The ECCE programme provides up to two years of pre-school free of charge to families and is based on the National Practice Frameworks - Aistear and Síolta. Currently, children are eligible for ECCE starting at 2 years and 8 months to an upper age limit of 5 years and 6 months. The current ECCE eligibility criteria were set based on a number of considerations, including national experience and a review of international practice. The lower age range is informed by Tusla regulations for minimum adult-to-child ratios for children in early learning and childcare settings. These regulations take account of the needs and developmental stages of children such as toilet training and sleeping arrangements. The current arrangements also ensure that all children have the same eligibility for 2 years of ECCE.

To deliver the ECCE Programme, preschool providers receive a capitation of €69 per child per week. This was increased from €64.50 in September 2018.

When Core Funding was introduced in 2022, services previously in receipt of ECCE standard capitation saw an increase to their capitations through a combination of their ECCE and Core Funding allocation. For the current programme year, with ECCE and Core Funding combined, services receive a minimum of €81.75 per child per week, owing to increases in the Core Funding allocation.

Additional Core Funding is available to services delivering the ECCE programme through Graduate Premiums, Targeted Measures and the Staff Funding Additional Contributions.