James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Funding of more than €0.25 billion is invested annually by my Department in early-years services. This funding, which is in addition to the direct support provided to all parents in the form of child benefit, supports more than 100,000 children each year. This high level of investment has been maintained despite the difficult budgetary circumstances that prevailed in recent years.

The rate of 0.2% of GDP, quoted by the Deputy, only represents my Department's expenditure on the free preschool year provided under the early childhood care and education programme, amounting to €175 million. This figure does not include my Department's expenditure on the community child care subvention programme and the training and education child care programmes, which amounts to an additional €70 million per year.

Further, the OECD, in drawing international comparisons on public expenditure on early years services, adjusts for cross-national differences in the compulsory age of entry into primary school. Therefore, for countries where children enter school at age five, such as Ireland, expenditure on early years services is adjusted by adding up the expenditure corresponding to children aged five who are enrolled in primary school. When Ireland's expenditure is adjusted in this way, the OECD reports that Ireland actually spends 0.5% of GDP on early years services compared to the OECD average of 0.8% of GDP.

I would like to be in a position to increase our investment in early years services to be more in line with the OECD average. This will take time as the benefits of economic growth generate the required resources. However, I am determined that all such spending, whether existing or additional, will be based on good evidence and co-ordinated strategically so that we achieve the best possible benefits for children. To this end, I established the interdepartmental group to develop a coherent whole-of-government approach to investment in early years and after school care and education. This group will report shortly and will present the Government with costed options for increased investment in quality services over a period of years.

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