Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I will ask a question about literacy and its place in early education. I read some research years ago. When citing research, I should have the citation to hand but, unfortunately, I do not. This research suggested that, whether you start literacy work at four or at seven, the outcomes are broadly the same by the time the child is 12. If I am right on this, and I am sure I will be corrected if I am not, it is madness to spend time on literacy between the ages of four and seven if the outcomes are going to be the same when the children reach 12. I would like to see the focus on gross and fine motor skills, that is, cutting things out, pasting, active play, access to the outdoors, forest schooling and all of those things. Have we gone far enough in interrogating the place of literacy and pre-literacy, particularly in early learning settings?