Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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490. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on the progress of the preparation of the national early years strategy; and if she could provide an indicative time frame for publication of same. [29283/13]

Frances 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 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 under development. It is expected that it will cover a range of issues affecting children in their first years of life such as child health and well-being, parenting and family support, learning and development, play and recreation and early childhood care and education. The Strategy will further recognise the economic imperative and benefits accruing from targeted investment in early years interventions.

Key issues to be addressed in the Strategy include:

- the further development of early childhood care and education programmes;

- the need to enhance quality provision, curricular support; and workforce capacity in early years services;

- support and regulation of the childminding sector; and

- the future development of early intervention, therapeutic and family support services to support young children and their parents.

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 Intervention 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 Policy Framework, is currently being analysed and will inform both the Framework and the Early Years Strategy.

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, and I am very satisfied with the progress being made in developing Ireland's first Early Years Strategy. I expect the Strategy to be published during the summer months.