Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I welcome very much the publication of this report, which provides most useful comparisons on the structure and organisation of early childhood education and care in the countries that comprise the European Union. This most comprehensive report has only recently been published and it will require careful consideration by officials in my Department.

The report provides a European-level analysis of progress in the development of early childhood care and education across the region. It covers a wide range of issues relating to early child care provision, including governance, accessibility and affordability, and is based on information provided by 32 European countries.

In Ireland, early childhood care relates to children in the age range from zero to six and is provided through private commercial and community services. We assist parents by ensuring that there is sufficient quality infrastructure and by providing support funding which enables parents to access high-quality child care services. The Government provides approximately €260 million annually to help parents with the cost of child care. This funding is provided through a number of targeted programmes which benefit approximately 100,000 children each year. In many cases these supports are provided based on the income level or social welfare entitlement of the parents and are not universal supports.

Many European countries provide early years places for children by establishing a legal entitlement to or by making compulsory one pre-primary year. In Ireland, the introduction of the free universal early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme in 2010 was major milestone in the development of early childhood services in this country. The programme represents an annual investment of almost €175 million and ensures that approximately 68,000 children have guaranteed access to high-quality preschool services each year.

The report highlights the diversity of child care services throughout the European countries. It highlights aspects of child care provision in this country which could be considered to be in the lower half of the European league. In Ireland, before 2010, the emphasis was on ensuring there was sufficient infrastructure to meet the increased demands of the expanding Irish economy. The considerable capital investment made in this area between 1998 and 2010 has ensured that there is sufficient child care infrastructure, and the emphasis must switch to addressing quality issues and providing services that are affordable and accessible to this and future generations of Irish children.

Some of the issues raised in the report have already been identified in the early years quality agenda which is being advanced by my Department and on which considerable progress has been made. For example, on the issue of qualifications of staff working in the child care sector, the report highlights the fact that Ireland is one of two countries where no minimum formal qualification is required. The matter has been addressed and the necessary legislative changes are coming into place to ensure that by 2015 all staff will have a minimum level of educational qualification if they are to work directly with children in the child care sector.

The early years quality agenda is designed to ensure Irish children will be in a position to enjoy standards of care and education in Irish preschool settings that are on par with the best international standards. The provision of funding to support the new learner fund to assist staff in securing the new qualification requirements and the further funding allocated to support a specialist support service for child care providers are examples of the urgency the Government attaches to improving the quality of child care services. Considerable progress has been made during the past 15 years in the development of child care services. Opportunities to further develop the child care sector have been limited because of the prevailing budgetary situation, as Deputy Troy and others will accept. However, the progress made since 2010 represents a clear commitment to improving access to high-quality child care. While we have a distance to travel, we must be satisfied that our services match the best in Europe.

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