Mr. Toby Wolfe:

I agree with Dr. Hennessey that there was a very clear call from the expert group to prioritise the issue of quality. In that context, the expert group talked about the "Prime Time" programme entitled, A Breach of Trust, and the lessons to be learned from it. A clear lesson is that we do not want to see a repeat. That means that public funding should not be used to support lower quality services.

In respect of affordability and access, the expert group had a few recommendations to make. Recommendation No. 17 calls for income-related subsidies for early care and education services to reduce the cost barrier for families, particularly those on low incomes or experiencing poverty. It went on to state reform of the existing subsidy schemes - the community childcare subvention scheme and CETS - should ensure subsidised places were equally accessible in all areas of the country. That was a specific recommendation made by the group. Obviously, the recommendation that free preschool provision be extended would also lead to an increase in access and affordability.

On the question about the percentage of GDP invested being utopian, I echo Dr. Hennessey's remarks. The expert group stated that public investment in early years education was money well spent. We cannot afford not to do it. The expert group also stated we could increase it incrementally; therefore, 1% of GDP was not a recommended figure for budget 2015. The recommendation was that we increase expenditure over a ten year timeframe.

There was a question on maternity leave and suggestions around making the existing provision of maternity leave transferable at no cost. As the expert group did not comment on that proposal, it is hard to know what it would have stated. However, its position was that the period of leave should be extended. It approached this from the perspective of the child in saying every child should be able to remain at home with a parent until he or she was 12 months old. While allowing the existing entitlements to maternity leave to be shared might facilitate gender equality in caring roles, it would not enable children to remain at home for longer; therefore, it would not quite match the expert group's recommendation.

On special education, Dr. Hennessey was right to agree that it was a cause for concern if any child was missing out on the free preschool year. That is why the expert group asked for the access figures to be looked at very closely. It also had a number of specific recommendations to make to make services more inclusive for children with disabilities. Recommendation No. 18 called for a national policy on access to preschool special needs assistants to ensure consistency and the availability of assistants. It called for improved access to a wide range of services, including speech and language therapy, with services being brought closer to children and a national roll-out of training programmes on inclusive practice and the diversity and equality guidelines. These are the subject of recommendations Nos. 19 and 20. There is a series of recommendations around ensuring services meet the needs of children with disabilities, which clearly was a priority for the expert group.