Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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61. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children in after-school care that are supported by schemes operated by his Department; and the distribution of these children between community facilities, private facilities, and public facilities such as schools. [36204/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Administrative data on schemes is collected by Pobal, on behalf of my Department. Owing to the nature of the system, scheme-level data on school-age childcare is not captured as a discrete category. However, scheme-level data is available by the age of children. The data I am giving today relates to children aged six years and over. However, since children under the age of six may be in school, the available data is likely to underestimate the actual figures.

Available data from June this year indicates that 14,304 children aged six years and over are being supported to participate in school-age childcare through schemes offered by my Department. Of these children, 6,461 are in private services, while 7,845 are in community services.

A breakdown is also available by scheme. There is a very small difference between total figures and scheme-level data because a small number of children are registered to attend more than one service. Of children aged six years and over:

- 7,345 children are supported through the Community Childcare Scheme. Of these, 3,240 are in private services, while 4,105 are in community services.

- 6,873 children are supported through the National Childcare Scheme. Of these, 4,552 are in private services, while 2,322 are in community services.

- A further 17 children are supported through other schemes.

According to data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile, 14% of services (including both early learning and care and school-age childcare services) are located on school premises, with a slightly higher proportion among community providers (16%) than private (13%).