Budget 2015: Expansion of Free Pre-School

As announced in Budget 2015, from September 2016 children will be able to avail of the free preschool year when they reach the age 3 of and remain in free pre-school until they transfer to primary school provided that they are not older than 5 years 6 months at the end of the pre-school year. Parents will be able to enrol their child at three different points during the year: September, January and April

From September 2016, there will be three points of enrolment within the pre-school year:

If your child's third birthday is between September and December 2016, they can enrol for free pre-school from 1st January 2017. Assuming they don't start primary school until September 2018, they will be able to continue in free pre-school for a further year from September 2017.

If your child's third birthday is between January and March 2017, they can enrol for free pre-school from 1st April 2017. Assuming they don't start primary school until September 2018, they will be able to continue in free pre-school for a further year from September 2017.

If your child's third birthday is between April 2017 and August 2017, they can enrol for free pre-school from 1st September 2017. If your child starts primary school in September 2018, they will be entitled to one year of free pre-school. If they don't start primary school until September 2019, then they will be entitled to two full years of free pre-school, i.e. in 2017-18, and in 2018-19.

 *As the child would turn 5yrs and 6mths by the 30th June they cannot enrol for the free pre-school on the third rolling intake i.e. the child starts the first year in January and enrols again in September but cannot enrol for a third time the next September.