Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to increase qualification requirements for staff working in child-care facilities, particularly those participating in the early childhood care and education schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26059/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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There are no plans at present to increase the level of qualifications required under the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme. However, interim arrangements which applied in the 2010-2012 start-up phase will no longer apply from September 2012. Under the interim arrangements, possession of the four core child care modules of the FETAC Level 5 award have been accepted as qualifying a pre-school leader under the programme, provided that the person concerned is working towards the achievement of a full level 5 qualification by September 2012. From that date, all pre-school leaders will be required to meet this criterion in full.

The literacy and numeracy strategy, however, which was launched by my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, in July of this year, contains a commitment to increase the qualifications required for staff working in State-funded ECCE services at some stage in the future. Clearly, this will require assurance that appropriate ECCE training is available to child care staff.

In this context, the workforce development plan for the early childhood care and education sector identifies the way forward in terms of upskilling the existing workforce and ensuring that those who enter the workforce in the future are appropriately prepared for their role. It also identifies career paths and progression routes for those who choose this area of work and provides clarity regarding the core skills and knowledge essential to practice effectively in an ECCE setting. The implementation of the plan is being overseen by the early years education policy unit of the Department of Education and Skills, which is co-located within my Department.

One development associated with the implementation of the plan is the publication of new common award standards for awards made by the Further Education and Training Council, FETAC, at levels 4, 5 and 6 on the National Framework for Qualifications. The changeover to the new award standards is a very positive and welcome development. They promote consistency in quality, content and delivery of programmes of learning leading to these awards nationally, their practice focus ensures that graduates are fully prepared to enter employment upon graduation and their structure ensures that core knowledge and skills are developed across all levels of qualifications which in turn allows for the establishment of clear professional pathways into and through the profession, which is something many of the staff employed in these services have been requesting.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith agat a Aire for that reply. The early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme is one of the developments in the child care sector which has been a shining light in terms of progress. What was a relatively realistic investment is reaping great rewards in terms of ensuring that every child, regardless of the means of their family, is getting preschool education.

The first full year of the scheme was 2010-2011 but the scheme only began in early 2010 and therefore has been developing in the past two years. It has progressed a good deal in that way but the key is not just the provision of the time and a preschool service for children. It is also about the quality, as I have no doubt the Minister is aware, particularly attention to ensuring that the Síolta framework for early childhood care is promoted and is not just a document. It is important also that the Aistear curriculum is developed at preschool because we are at an early stage of this programme and its pre-eminence in terms of its potential for young children within the Minister's Department must continue.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy on the opportunity the ECCE scheme presents in that 95% of our three to five year olds are attending these services, and quality is of the utmost importance as well as top quality training for the staff delivering the service. In that regard, another important element on which I am sure the Deputy would agree with me is to involve the parents where there are opportunities to do so.

The scheme is a good place for parents to have the opportunity to discuss their children's development and progress. The services need to be encouraged to involve parents as much as possible. We certainly want the two quality frameworks the Deputy mentioned, Síolta and Aistear, to be implemented and adhered to throughout the country.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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On a related matter, is the Minister aware that cuts in recent years have disproportionately affected the provision of child care facilities through community-based providers, that is, under the community development programmes? Many of those who work in the area are already low paid, which is most regrettable. I believe one of the fault lines is that they are not allowed to access collective bargaining. That is just an example. Perhaps the Minister has already done so, but will she address the matter with the Minister for Finance? There should be an entitlement to access collective bargaining on the part of low-paid workers in child care provision, particularly in community-based facilities, which is where the overwhelming majority of those involved in this essential work are based.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Access to child care is something we want to preserve and develop. As the Deputy said, the previous Government decided about three years ago to close down the capital funding in the area. Nevertheless, we must continue to address the issue, and at the very least be aware of the demands that exist given our increased population and increasing birth rate. We need to be sensitive to the demands in this area. I am keen that we have a rigorous analysis of what the demands are going to be. That is one response to what the Deputy said. Perhaps he will correspond with me directly on the other matter and I will examine it.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Question 55: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to extend the entitlement to free provision that began with the free preschool year to a second, earlier year; her views that the extension of the early childhood care and education scheme would be a major boost to the future lives of our young persons and to society in general; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26001/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I assure the House again of the Government's ongoing commitment to early childhood care and education. The ECCE scheme, which Deputy McConalogue mentioned, was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free preschool year to all eligible children in the year before they commence primary school. Almost every preschool service in the State is participating in the programme, so it is available to children in all areas, and some 63,000 children or 94% of the eligible age cohort availed of the programme in the 2010-11 preschool year. In 2011, the ECCE programme is expected to cost €166 million. Services participating in the programme are required to provide age-appropriate activities and programmes to children within the Síolta framework for early learning and they are also encouraged to implement the Aistear curriculum, which has been developed for children from birth to six years.

My objective is to develop the ECCE programme incrementally over the term of this Government. However, all programme funding is considered in the context of the annual Estimates and budgetary process and I must operate within the financial constraints under which the rest of the Government is operating. As I have just said, a key element of this development will be to support the implementation of the workforce development plan by the early education policy unit of the Department of Education and Skills, which is co-located within my Department. In addition, I will be collaborating closely with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, in implementing the recently launched literacy and numeracy strategy. Early intervention is crucial and the strategy provides for a range of actions to be undertaken by my Department to support preschool children and their families. I have been impressed by the work that is going on throughout the country in relation to early intervention. It is increasingly evidence and research based, which is a good thing. We are seeing programmes that have been tested and which we know have a good impact and support families properly.

It would be extremely helpful to many children if a second preschool year was provided. It would probably be particularly beneficial to children with special needs, who can currently avail of the preschool year on a pro rata basis over two years. I would like to be in a position to deliver on this, but as I said, I must operate within the financial constraints under which the rest of the Government is operating. I assure Deputy Wallace that the ECCE programme will continue to be evaluated and developed as resources permit.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for her answer. I realise that money is scarce and the Minister is constrained, but she will know that a report by the OECD in 2009 showed that we spend a lower percentage on the education of children under six than any other country in Europe. It is a fact of life that we have underestimated the importance of investment in children at the earliest stages. Even if the overall spend cannot change, we need to consider rebalancing spending with a view to greater investment in children in the early years. As the Minister admitted, all the research shows that such spending is the most productive of all. Every euro spent on children under six years of age saves the State €8 in the long term. That is dramatic. Surely it would be a great investment on the part of the State to spend more money on the early years.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I certainly take the Deputy's point. He does not have to convince me of the importance of early intervention and support and quality child care. The situation has improved greatly in recent years and the ECCE programme, which 94% of children are attending, as I said, is certainly beneficial. I would like to see more resources in the area. In July, at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, I indicated my objective over the coming years to seek to develop further the free preschool year in early childhood care and education. As the Deputy well knows, we are in an extraordinarily difficult financial situation and my Department is subject to the expenditure review, as are all other Departments. However, I would like to work towards further development as resources permit. It would certainly be beneficial. I will discuss the matter with the Department of Education and Skills, but there are serious fiscal constraints on all of us and I must operate within them.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Aside from the social benefits, it is still just 15 hours a week. To add to that, parents are already in a difficult place financially, yet child care in Ireland is among the most expensive in Europe. We put the lowest funding into it of any country in Europe and the costs are among the highest. As an aside, I commend the Minister on her speech at the Amnesty briefing yesterday, which was very good.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Wallace. There is no doubt that Ireland was slow to develop comprehensive child care, but great progress has been made in the past number of years, primarily thanks to EU funding but also because of some national funding. Further developments in the area are hugely constrained despite the worldwide evidence because financial resources are limited. However, I assure the Deputy that I am personally committed to the area and I will seek to see whether resources can be made available, perhaps in the first instance to accommodate children with special needs and give them some extra time. I accept that the ideal would be to have a second year and I will progress work on that, but we are operating within tight financial constraints, as the Deputy knows.