Discussions with Mayo TD on early years and school age care priorities

EARLY Childhood Ireland, the leading membership and advocacy organisation for quality early years and school age care, met yesterday with Mayo TD Keira Keogh, newly appointed chair of the Joint Committee on Children and Equality.

The discussion focused on key priorities for early years and school age care, including the importance of high-quality provision in centre-based and childminding settings in Mayo.

Early Childhood Ireland shared ‘4 Asks for Children’ that have the potential to be transformative by recognising early years and school age care as a public good that plays a vital role in Irish society.

“Early Childhood Ireland was delighted to meet with Deputy Keogh, the new chairperson of the Joint Committee on Children and Equality, to discuss priorities for early years and school age care in Mayo and beyond,” Frances Byrne, director of policy at Early Childhood Ireland, said.

“Our 4 Asks for Children offer a vision for the future of early years and school age care that has the potential to be life-changing for more than 5,900 children attending settings in Mayo today and for generations to come,” she added.

“One of the biggest challenges facing Early Childhood Ireland’s 113 member settings across Mayo is the recruitment and retention of staff,” according to Ms. Byrne.

“During today’s positive exchange with Deputy Keogh, we emphasised the need for the government to set a date to bring graduates within public sector pay and conditions in line with teachers. This will go a long way to resolving the recruitment and retention issues.”

Early Childhood Ireland believes that every child in Ireland should have access to high-quality early years and school age care as a basic right. New figures released by Pobal from 2023/2024 show that 550 children in Mayo under the age of three are on waiting lists to access the care and education they deserve.

The data also revealed that there are 39 children under the age of 1 on crèche waiting lists in Mayo and no places available for them; 274 children aged 1-2 years on waiting lists and no places available; and 237 children aged 2-3 years on waiting lists and 35 places available.

Commenting on this, Ms. Byrne said: “Ireland needs a system of national and local two-year and five-year planning cycles to ensure that there are enough places for children in their communities.”

Early Childhood Ireland is also urging the government to publish a five-year plan with a new investment target to ensure the implementation of overarching early years and school age care sector policies. Despite reaching its initial target of €1bn in 2023, the government has yet to produce a new funding goal and a plan which unifies the various commitments it has made in policy reports.

Finally, the organisation argues that Ireland must be brought into line with other countries by ensuring adequately paid maternity and paternity leave.

“As recommended by the European Commission, the government should commit to payment of 66% of a parent or guardian’s income during the first year of a child’s life to enable them to stay at home during this crucial period,” said Ms. Byrne.