Written answers

Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Early Years Strategy

Photo of Barry CowenBarry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when the Early Years Strategy will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7321/13]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is currently developing a new Children and Young People’s Policy Framework which will set out high-level goals for both my own and other Departments for the next five years. The Policy Framework is expected to be published in mid 2013 and will build on Our Children - Their Lives, Ireland’s first Children’s Strategy which was published in 2000. This is relevant to the National Early Years Strategy as the Strategy is one of three, more detailed strategies which will be developed under the Framework.

The Early Years Strategy, which will be Ireland's first ever national strategy for early years, is already under development and is expected to be completed and published later this year. It is expected that it will cover a range of issues affecting children in their first years of life such as health, including physical and mental development, vaccination programmes and population health issues such as nutrition and exercise, as well as parenting and family support, learning and development, play and recreation and early childhood care and education, including literacy and numeracy.

The Strategy will bring together and consider a significant amount of international and domestic research on the importance of early years for child development, including findings from the 'Growing up in Ireland' study. It will also be informed by the evaluations from the Prevention and Early Interventions Projects which have been funded jointly by my Department and philanthropic organisations, as well as an analysis of existing service provision and associated resources. The major programme of institutional change which is currently underway, including the establishment of the Child and Family Support Agency, will also be taken into account.

The results of a public consultation, undertaken as part of the development of the Children and Young People’s Policy Framework, is currently being analysed and will inform both the Framework and the Early Years Strategy. A further, focussed consultation with key stakeholders in relation to the Early Years Strategy, is also proposed.

I have appointed an Expert Advisory Group, chaired by Dr. Eilis Hennessy, Head of School of Psychology at UCD, to advise on the preparation of the Strategy. The Group comprises external experts from a range of specialties, including paediatrics, early childhood care and education, child protection and public health nursing and is continuing to meet on a regular basis. I have met the Expert Advisory Group on a number of occasions, most recently on 21 January 2013 and I am very satisfied with the progress made in developing Ireland's first Early Year's Strategy.

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