Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As an Independent Minister, a campaigner and fighter for social justice, I welcome and support this Bill. I wish to inform Senators that I have also secured the agreement of Cabinet colleagues to support it. Senator Ó Ríordáin's work on this important issue as a teacher, campaigner and public representative is welcome and it is right that it should be acknowledged.

We are in the process of ensuring that our children have the best possible start in life. There is important work going on to improve preschool and primary school. Colleagues will be aware of our efforts to change one of the most expensive child care services in the world into the best. With unprecedented levels of investment and a great deal of political support from the Houses, we have made a good start. That work is continuing.

However, we must also ensure that those parents who opt to place their four or five year old children in primary school are supported. Currently, 40% of four year olds and virtually all five year olds attend primary school, yet our laws exclude them from supports that are only available to children of the legal school-going age, that being, six to 16 years. As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I share the opinion that this needs to be corrected. I view the Bill in that context.

By acting now, we can ensure that, when necessary, parents are offered support - the Senator's Labour Party colleagues used the word "empowerment" - to give their children the very best start in school through regular attendance. The measures that we are discussing will allow appropriate interventions by Tusla's educational welfare services, EWS, with the families of four and five year olds. I welcome to the Public Gallery Mr. Noel Kelly, the director of the EWS, and the support given by him and Tusla for this Bill. Educational welfare officers will work with families and schools to improve the attendance, participation and engagement of our youngest pupils.

Parents are the main educators of their children and, therefore, have a key role. While the classroom, playground and formation of new friendships lead to learning, excitement and joy, it also requires commitment. It can be hard work, as Senator Ó Ríordáin and other colleagues indicated, and puts some families under pressure. For some, the new routine, time commitment and cost can be a struggle. The Bill will ensure those parents have extra support. Most fundamentally, we know that prevention and early intervention are much more effective than "cure". Appropriate early intervention, allied with high-quality early years services, is the best way to ensure that every child has a real and meaningful opportunity to realise his or her full potential.

We are making progress in providing options for children, parents and families. Senator Ó Ríordáin's Bill ensures extra support in primary school, but child care changes already in train also offer other options for parents of very young children. My mission is to ensure that every child is offered accessible, affordable and quality child care. Since the introduction of free preschool, which is provided under the early childhood care and education programme, in 2010, the number of children attending preschool has exceeded 95%. In line with the programme for Government commitment to introduce "second preschool year which will help prepare young children further for starting school, raising the school starting age to 5 years ", the programme is being extended to two full years from this September.

The changes that we are making at preschool and primary school levels are positive. I support the Bill and welcome the support of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills. I promise that our Departments will work closely together, along with the EWS, on any potential policy or resource implications. I commend the Senator's initiative in introducing the Bill, given the positive impact that it will have on children and families and how it strengthens the legislative framework within which the EWS undertakes its work.