Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I seek a debate on early childhood care and education. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, made a positive speech to the House about two months ago in which she outlined the benefits of early childhood care and education. In the United States, where early childhood care began 30 years ago when it was not fashionable here, it has been demonstrated that it delivers a return on investment of ten or 20 to one.

The Minister for Education and Skills did not announce a cut in child benefit yesterday but a proposal to reallocate funding to be put to good use in early childhood care and education. Dr. Nóirín Hayes, in conjunction with the Dublin Institute of Technology, has produced an up-to-date report on the issue. Just two weeks ago, a study was published which showed the benefits of early childhood education for 1,000 children in west Tallaght. The Minister's statement yesterday outlined how to make good use of money. Early childhood care and education has been demonstrated to be one way to spend money wisely. The Minister also noted that the changes required could not be made overnight because we do not have in place an adequate early childhood care and education infrastructure because the sector has been treated as the poor relation for years. We should ascertain if infrastructure can be provided for quality preschool education and training. While excellent training is being provided in this area, it will also be necessary to upskill trainers. There is a difference between minding children and high quality care and education. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on this issue as soon as possible.