Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, Chairman. I welcome the delegates and commend them on their fine presentations. As a new member of the committee, I have not been party to previous discussions on this issue. The presentations were an eyeopener for me. I thank the witnesses for the work that went into them and the professional manner in which they were delivered.

Leading on from the point made by Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, we have a very mixed, piecemeal and ineffective system of child care and early childhood education. Staff in the sector are poorly paid and, in some cases, their qualifications are inadequate. The service provided is incredibly expensive and provision is not universal by any means. The issue that presents immediately concerns the extent to which we are mixing child care and early education, as Deputy Mitchell O'Connor noted. The question to be answered is how we can build a coherent and holistic system of child care and early education that is efficient, cost effective and does what it says on the tin.

Primary school teachers in Ireland have always been insistent that primary education should start at an early age. At age four, we have one of the lowest primary school entry ages in Europe and, indeed, throughout the world. The challenge is to bridge the gap between birth and age four and do so in such a manner that there are not gaps all over the place. We started out in the wrong way, unfortunately, with the funding coming from the European Union for this purpose being administered through the Department of Justice and Equality. I cannot for the life of me figure out why it was done that way. It meant there was a focus on the number of places rather than the quality of care and a structure which effectively put the cart before the horse. That remains the case to an extent.

The introduction of the free preschool year in 2009 represented an essentially stand-alone initiative. There has been some discussion recently as to whether a second free year should be provided.

If the latter were to be done, it would mean free preschool education for the two years prior to children turning four. Thereafter, we are concerned with the period between birth and two years of age. Will the witnesses outline their views as to how we might bridge the gap between birth, child care and preschool education? Will they indicate as to where and how the integration might take place? We need to put together a sustainable plan for child care and preschool education that will bring children right up to their entry to primary school. The process in this regard should involve professionals who are properly qualified. The problem is that until now we have only been making isolated attempts to deal with this matter and that nothing really coherent or professional has been put in place. Will the witnesses outline their views in respect of this issue and indicate how they see matters developing into the future?

I cannot for the life of me understand why the current system is so incredibly expensive or why those who work in it are so poorly paid. There is almost a contradiction in terms in this regard and I would welcome some ideas from the witnesses as to why that is the case. Are there many men working in the system? As I understand it, the system is almost entirely the preserve of women.

The free preschool that has been provided is not being taken up fully, with a 5% to 10% shortfall in terms of the number of parents who are accessing that year for their children. Will the witnesses comment on the difficulties in this regard? What are their views on paternity leave and on extending the term of maternity leave? I understand that Ireland is way behind the rest of Europe and other OECD countries in the context of both paternity and maternity leave. If we took action in this regard, perhaps it could form part of the process by means of which we might provide a continuum of child care from birth all the way through to entry to primary school.

The witnesses made a very good presentation that highlighted the inadequacies that exist at present. Perhaps we should examine the possibility of drawing up an overall plan which we could seek to implement quickly as the recovery in the economy kicks in. We should seek to proceed in a holistic, coherent fashion rather than continuing in a piecemeal manner.