Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

The area of child care and preschooling for young children is a hugely important public policy issue. The scheme the Government now is introducing is very positive and reflects an enormous commitment to the country's children in the context of the great difficulties being experienced in respect of the public finances. The Government's announcement in April that it intends to introduce a free preschool year in early childhood care and education is welcome. The Green Party's manifesto in 2007 committed us to initiating a free and universal preschool education of 3.5 hours, five days a week for all children in the year before they go to school. Although the commitment was not incorporated into the programme for Government, the Green Party is pleased this idea has become Government policy. It is a sound policy that addresses the issue of what the State can afford to provide while instituting a universally-entitled scheme at a crucial stage in a child's development.

Studies have shown the positive impact of preschool education for children. One such recent study from the National Institute for Early Education Research in America, which was published last September, stated that well-designed preschool education programmes produce long-term improvements in school success, including higher achievement test scores, lower rates of grade repetition and special education and higher educational attainment, particularly among children from low-income families. In its analysis of the likely impact of a publicly funded pre-kindergarten scheme, which may be comparable to what the Government is introducing here, the institute found there would be a paradoxical but worthwhile effect in terms of educational gains.

The Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, recently stated the response of one Fine Gael Member to the Government's initiative was to suggest the scheme should not be free and that service providers should be allowed charge fees from qualified parents in addition to collecting the capitation fee in the form of a top-up. Such a system would be deeply flawed and would inevitably be to the disadvantage of children from low-income families. The need for clarity and certainty for both parents and child care providers about how the scheme will operate is vital and it is important that all the relevant information is circulated to people as soon as possible.

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