Thousands of middle-income families won’t get promised childcare supports because the Government “botched” the scheme’s rollout.

The Children's Minister Katherine Zappone has promised an independent review of the cost of childcare.

Ireland is one of just two countries in Europe that reportedly fails to offer mothers ‘decently-paid’ maternity leave.

Keeping childcare costs down will be a challenge when a range of subsidies are introduced next September, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, said last night.

Parents can soon look online to find out how preschools in their area are teaching children and catering for their development.

Parents are facing a scramble for childcare after a warning that there will not be enough places for all children when the second free preschool year starts in less than five months’ time.

Early Childhood Ireland yesterday said parents can be reassured by new evidence that sending their children to a creche has no effect on their ability to learn.

Vital pre-school services for children with disabilities are set to receive over €100m of Government investment between now and the end of the decade that will help more than 7,500 families every year.

There is a warning that parents may have to pay to hold on to places for their children until the free preschool year kicks in for them.

The first days of primary school can be difficult for children even if they have had the benefit of a pre-school experience says Helen O’Callaghan.

Children’s Minister Dr James Reilly has said he believes a second free pre-school year would benefit children’s educational and developmental outcomes — but claims the State cannot afford the extra €175m it would require.

Childcare professionals who earn on average €10 an hour, are planning further rallies next Saturday in demand of fair pay.

Parental leave for the first year of a child’s life is crucial to address the practice of “six-month-old babies being dropped in their PJs to the creche at 6.45 every morning, where they are going to remain all day”, say children’s rights advocates.

Potential plans to allow mothers double the amount of paid leave they receive after having a baby, and to receive extra weeks off if they split the time at home with their partner, will only improve child services if they are backed up by a series of other wide-ranging reforms.

Mothers could be allowed to double the amount of leave they take after having a baby and receive extra weeks off if they agree to split the time at home with their partner.

The Government is facing revolt by the country’s 25,000 childcare workers over demands that they continually upskill while forced to exist on "poverty pay".

The Government is facing revolt by the country’s 25,000 childcare workers over demands that they continually upskill while forced to exist on poverty pay.

CHILDREN have a knack for making the ordinary extraordinary, so why not use this innate ability to make this Christmas truly memorable for them.

FOR many young children, pre-school is their first introduction to books.

An organisation representing pre-school has backed Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan’s call for proper supports for nearly 4,000 children with disabilities, saying they otherwise risk not achieving their potential.

Just one out of 22 Mayo preschools was fully compliant with childcare regulations last year, and a lack of Garda vetting and police clearance continue to dog the services, according to the latest tranche of creche inspection reports.

Early Childhood Ireland is calling on the Government to ringfence funding for training, mentoring and inspections in the childcare sector.

Parents arriving at the Links Creche in Malahide have been defending the child care centre this morning.

SOME creches have not been inspected in more than four years it emerged yesterday, with the country’s main nurseries association claiming the inspection rate was “an outrage”.

THE days of Ken and Barbie dolls will be well over if one kindergarten gets its way.

HIGH staffing costs, rents and the cost of meeting regulations are making it increasingly difficult for individuals to set up childcare facilities, according to the National Crèche and Nurseries Association.

THE National Children’s Nurseries Association (NCNA) has called on its members to put a clear and accountable complaints procedure in place so that issues in relation to crèches can be resolved quickly and fairly.