Ms Teresa Heeney:

It is important to recognise the protective value of early years services in the same way that we recognise the protective value of schools. Reports are being undertaken now regarding the fact that early years services and schools were closed during Covid-19. Approximately 97% of children attend early years services when they are two years and eight months old. The State has eyes on most children at an early stage. The beauty of the ECCE scheme is that it is universal. This comes back again to the question of placing ECCE on a legislative basis. If ECCE was on a legislative basis, we would know that children are attending services. They would have a right to attend a high-quality service. That would allow the State to be more protective of all children from as early as two years and eight months. Many children would be younger than that, as we know. That idea of wraparound supports has been conceived and considered in the first five strategy, which proposes that services would behave as neighbourhood hubs where those wraparound supports would be available.

Policy has considered this and been accepted, but it is about investment and having a vision. To go back to Dr. Feely's point about home visiting, we hear from our members that Equal Start has allowed them to visit children at home so that parents can hear in a very safe environment about what goes on in the service. That is particularly important for newcomer families who do not speak English as a first language. We really want to see those children in services.