Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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I welcome our witnesses and thank them for the update. It was comprehensive and useful. I have a couple of comments and questions. I begin with the early learning and care and the Equal Start programme. I have certainly raised this issue here before. Do the witnesses have a view about on-site early years education versus integration? I have had experience with Traveller families in my own home county of Kilkenny, where there had been an on-site preschool, and it was subsequently demolished, and families moved out into other early learning settings. It is a question based on the point raised by Ms Baxter about nervousness and parents having a nervousness. The advantage as we saw it was that the families had a short distance to bring children to the setting while it was on site in a group housing scheme. Unfortunately, when it was demolished, the numbers fell away in terms of participation. Is there a view within the Department about the settings for encouraging families to participate in early years education?