489. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration has been given to creating a system that would allow for parents to be paid the ECCE subsidy directly in cases whereby their choice of preschool or childcare centre is not signed up to this scheme and therefore they cannot benefit from it and must pay the full cost of the fees. [66427/26]

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme scheme is a universal scheme which provides 2 years of free preschool to children in the eligible age range of 2 years and 8 months to 5 years and 6 months. The ECCE programme is a preschool programme based on the National Practice Frameworks - Aistear and Síolta. The aim of the ECCE programme is to provide children with their first formal experience of early learning and to prepare them for the transition into primary school.

The Department funds private early learning and care service providers to provide the ECCE programme at a standard rate of €69 per week per child attending the ECCE programme. The Department is not considering a change to the delivery structure of the ECCE capitation at this time.

The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help families with their early learning and childcare costs in the form of a subsidy paid directly to the early learning and childcare provider. Subsidies are available for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years of age. The minimum rate available to all families in Ireland is €2.14 per hour, which is available for up to 45 weekly hours. Depending on the child's age and the family's income, an additional income assessed subsidy may be available to provide additional support. Further information on how to access the NCS is available at www.ncs.gov.ie