Early Childhood Ireland, the representative group for over 3,300 preschools and full daycare centres nationwide who support over 110,000 young children and their families, will come to Letterkenny tonight to discuss what it calls the “building blocks” for a second free preschool year. 
Following the national seminar in April, it was decided that a series of meetings would take place nationwide to gauge the opinion on adopting a second free preschool year.
The consultations will visit Dublin, Donegal, Cork and Galway over the coming weeks.
This issue got national attention after Minister for Education Ruari Quinn proposed that some of the money paid towards Child benefit be put towards the funding for a Second free preschool year, other senior members in politics such as Eamon Gilmore and Joan Burton have also had there say on this topic.
The free preschool year began 4 years ago and has had remarkable success in terms of attendance. Almost 95% of those eligible have attended the free preschool year which entitles children to 15 hours of pre school learning for 38 weeks of the year.
It has been indicated that if the option of a free second year preschool option was there that close to 95% of the children attending would go for another 12 months.
No matter what your economic situation may be all children attend for free, but the major stumbling block in proposing a free second year preschool option is the issue of funding.
According to Teresa Heeney, Chief Operations Officer, Early Childhood Ireland:
“Consultation with the childcare sector is key and that is why we are conducting this ThinkTank with members to discuss the building blocks for a second free preschool year.”
“Investing in children’s early years should be an ‘economic imperative’ and we hope this aspiration is reflected in the reality of the budget later this year.”
“The question of whether the sector is ready for a second preschool year is being asked and we see the key building blocks for the discussion as qualifications, capacity, curriculum and capitation.”
“What we need is a training fund and a workforce that is not only qualified to do the job but is also paid properly to do so. This is in line with the 2010 Workforce Development Plan and we call on the Government to implement this plan.”
“Childcare is expensive in Ireland, with a full time place in daycare costing about 20 per cent of earnings compared to an EU average of 12 per cent. However, these costs accrue, not because parents are being overcharged, but because it is a labour intensive sector, with salaries comprising approximately 70 per cent of costs.”
“Ireland currently has the highest birth rate in Europe at 2.1, and the CSO predicts it will likely remain at the top of the European league tables, in the range of 1.8 to 2.1 until 2046. This is a problem that our European neighbours would love to have.”
“In almost every rich country the numbers of children being born are insufficient to replace the number dying, but we buck that trend in Ireland and even the most conservative estimates sets Ireland apart from other countries in terms of future trends.”
“We invite as many parents to attend these consultations as possible, obviously there opinion on the subject is crucial and the purpose of these meetings is to see what the general feedback is like, and to listen to people who have ideas that will can hopefully mean we will be able to implement the free second year preschool option for families all over Ireland in the next year or two.”
The Consultation takes place tonight in the Mount Errigal hotel in Letterkenny at 6.30pm all are welcome to attend.
Further information: Teresa Heeney 087 7671481 or Carmel Doyle 087 2473537