Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is. It is a question I would love to ask both the Minister, Deputy Zappone, and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, in the same room. It is a question I ask every December and January when my office is bombarded with parents saying their child is 35th on the waiting list for the local primary school. When I ask what age the child is and the parent says "four", I scratch the back of my head and ask when the child will be five. Sometimes, I am told it will be in December, February or March. Other jurisdictions have taken the following step and I do not understand why we have not. We should impose a minimum age for entry into primary school. Educationally, what ECCE provides versus what a primary school can provide with the ratio differences are chalk and cheese. A child of four really benefits from ECCE or being at home rather than being in a primary school environment. It is not necessarily a related question but the Minister's view would be welcome.