Publication
Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE)
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
The Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) is a free, universal two-year preschool programme available to all children within the eligible age range funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth (DCEDIY). It provides children with their first formal experience of early learning prior to commencing primary school.
The Department funds a national network of CCCs who provide support and advice to parents/guardians and childcare providers, including support on applying for the various funding schemes administered by the Department and assistance for parents/guardians on all aspects of childcare.
If you have any queries in relation to the ECCE Programme, please contact your local CCC. Contact details for your local CCC can be found at www.myccc.ie .
You can also get help and information by calling the Pobal Parent Centre at 01 906 8530.
Childcare services taking part in the ECCE Programme must provide an appropriate preschool educational programme which adheres to the principles of Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Aistear, the early childhood curriculum framework for children from birth up to the age of six years.
The programme is provided for 3 hours per day, 5 days per week over 38 weeks per year (or 182 days which can be found on the provider’s ECCE calendar), and the programme year runs from 1st September to 30th June each year.
The programme is free and available to all children who have turned 2 years and 8 months of age by 31st August, and must not be older than 5 years and 6 months of age on or before 30th June, of the programme year.
This table shows the eligibility for ECCE by year of birth.
| Birth date between | ECCE start date | ECCE end date |
| 1st January 2019 - 31st December 2019 | 1st September 2022 + 1st September 2023 | June 2024 |
| 1st January 2020 - 31st December 2020 | 1st September 2023 + 1st September 2024 | June 2025 |
| 1st January 2021 - 31st December 2021 | 1st September 2024 + 1st September 2025 | June 2026 |
| 1st January 2022 - 31st December 2022 | 1st September 2025 + 1st September 2026 | June 2027 |
| 1st January 2023 - 31st December 2023 | 1st September 2026 + 1st September 2027 | June 2028 |
A Pre-Registration Form , will need to be filled out by the parent in order to register a child for the ECCE Programme. An approved provider will use the information from this form to submit the child’s details through the Early Years HIVE (EY HIVE) system.
You will be required to provide your child’s full name, date of birth, child’s PPS number, and Eircode.
The form will request information on ethnicity identifiers. While it is not mandatory for parents/guardians to provide data on ethnic or cultural backgrounds, the information may be useful for the purposes of allocating appropriate resources in schools to meet the individual needs of the children from these communities and to comply with a number of international reporting requirements for children from these countries.
While ECCE is a free programme, the applicant declaration form will show any fees in relation to additional hours of childcare, if they are applicable, and any discounts/optional extras etc. that are being availed of and have been agreed between the provider and the parent/guardian.
This form shows the total balance of fees including discounts/optional extras etc. that are being availed of and have been agreed between the provider and the parent/guardian.
This form must be signed by the parent/guardian and returned to the approved provider. If there is a change in fees, a new form needs to be signed and returned.
Where there is more than one child in a family in receipt of funding under the ECCE Programme, an Applicant Declaration is required for each child.
If you are unsure about any element of fees being charged, please contact your local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) at www.myccc.ie.
The 15 hours that are provided each week under the ECCE Programme are free.
Any fees charged to a parent/guardian, as well as details of any additional charges, discounts, optional extras etc., agreed by a parent/guardian, applied by the approved provider, will be on the Parent Statement.
Where a child is attending a part-time or full time service the ELC service provider must reduce the fees paid by the parent/guardian by €64.50 (or €12.90 per day).
If a parent/guardian has any issue in relation to fees/changes in fees, please contact your local CCC at www.myccc.ie.
The Parent Statement shows the fees charged, as agreed between the parent/guardian and the provider, as well as details of any additional charges, discounts, optional extras etc.
Parents/Guardians must sign and date, the Parent Statement, to indicate that they understand the fees that the approved provider will apply.
The Parent Statement must be returned to the approved provider by the parent/guardian within 4 weeks of the eligible child taking up an ECCE place for the relevant programme year.
An updated Parent Statement is required when there is a change to the base fee, a copy must be given to the parent/guardian, but a signature is not required. An email to the parent/guardian is acceptable. Where there is a change to a parent’s/guardian’s hours or days, there will be no need to issue or sign a revised Parent Statement.
An approved provider may charge a refundable deposit to hold an ECCE place for a child. The maximum deposit a provider may charge is equivalent to 4 weeks ECCE payment, i.e. €276. This deposit must appear on their fee table and the approved provider must give an accurate description and the total cost of the deposit.
The deposit must be returned to the parent/guardian once the registration has been approved. There are no exceptions to this rule.
If a parent/guardian has any issue getting their deposit returned, please contact your local CCC at www.myccc.ie.
It is at the discretion of the parent/guardian as to whether they want to avail of optional extras outlined below.
The only optional extras that an approved provider are allowed to charge for are:
• Food (children must also have the option of bringing their own snack/lunch instead).
• ‘Gymboree’ type events (where outside providers deliver an educational or entertainment based activity).
• Nappies/pull-ups (where applicable).
• Baking (where this is a regular part of the programme).
• 30 additional minutes (sessional services only i.e. this only applies if a parent/guardian is just availing of 3 hours of ECCE. This does not apply to services who offer part-time or full-time childcare).
• One paid preschool trip (entry fees, cost of transportation).
Anything outside of the list is prohibited.
All up-to-date calendars and fee tables must be visible and on display in an area of the service accessible and visible for parents/guardians to see.
All up-to-date calendars and fee tables must also be visible on any online platform that the service provider maintains for parents/guardians to see.
Providers must give 20 days’ written notice of any change in the calendars to parents/guardians. If a parent/guardian has any issue in this regard, please contact your local CCC at www.myccc.ie.
Providers must give 20 days’ written notice of any change in the fees to parents/guardians. If a parent/guardian has any issue in relation to fees/changes in fees, please contact your local CCC at www.myccc.ie.
An independent review of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme was carried out by Stranmillis University College, Belfast. The final report from the review and the executive summary can be accessed through the links below.
To find out more about other early learning and childcare supports, please visit Gov.ie/childcare
