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Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children & Youth Affairs has today welcomed the increased debate in recent days over the possible provision of a second free pre-school year.

The Minister also expressed her commitment to deliver improvements in quality in early years and childcare services.

Minister Fitzgerald was speaking in Dáil Éireann during Question Time.

The Minister stated: “I have consistently indicated my objective to seek to introduce a second free-pre-school year which would represent an equivalent saving of €2,500 - €3,000 in childcare costs for parents; as well as contributing to improved educational and developmental outcomes for children.”

“I welcome the increased debate on this matter in recent days and the supportive comments of my colleague the Minister for Education & Skills Ruairi Quinn.

“The current climate of fiscal constraint should not deter us from having this important debate given the increasing body of evidence highlighting the economic and societal returns on investments in early intervention.

“Early intervention must become part of our national psyche and investing in children’s early years should be an ‘economic imperative’.”

The Minister added: I will continue to work with Minister Quinn and Minister Joan Burton in examining options to extend and improve early years and childcare provsion.”

However the Minister told the Dáil that she is very conscious of the need to deliver improvements in quality in early years and childcare services; and that measures to support quality assurance and workforce development must go hand-in-hand with any extension of the free pre-school year.

Recently the Pre-School Inspectorate for the sector, together with the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills, have carried out joint pilot inspections of a number of pre-school services.

Commenting on these inspections the Minister stated that “while that the findings have not yet been published I understand that the pilot inspections found good standards of personal care, the relationships around children and the physical and material environment for children’s development. The inspections also identified considerable scope for development in relation to planned programmes of activities and their implementation, as outlined in the Aistear and Siolta frameworks which promote all aspects of children’s development.”

The Minister added: “I would like to see development and further investment in a number of associated measures to support quality assurance, staff training, workforce development and inspections. My Department is currently examining proposals in these areas, in collaboration with the Department of Education & Skills.

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Note:

At present one year of free pre-school is provided through the ‘ECCE’ scheme. This is a universal programme with 94% of qualifying children (c.68,000 children) partaking.

In line with the Programme for Government, Minister Fitzgerald succeeded in maintaining the universality of the free pre-school year, including securing an additional funding requirement of €9.8m in 2012 to address increased demand due to an increase in births since 2009.

In addition, in the Budget for 2013, Minister Fitzgerald & Minister Burton jointly announced a new €14 million After-school Childcare Programme. This programme will provide important support to parents in low income families wishing to take up employment, along with ensuring that some 6,000 quality after-school care places are provided to support children's development.

In 2013 the total expenditure by the Department of Children & Youth Affairs on early years and childcare programmes is expected to be in the region of €260 million. This represents a significant investment in supporting parents with the cost of childcare

Future developments relating to early years care and education will be considered during preparation of the new National Early Years Strategy which is currently being developed by my Department and will be published later this year.