Just 15% of Irish children in regulated childcare

IRELAND compares very badly to other developed countries in terms of funding and regulation by the State for childcare and pre-school education, a major international report reveals.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study showed fewer Irish children are in regulated child care than their counterparts in most other countries, reflecting the predominance of informal services in the country’s fragmented childcare sector.

The comparison of 2004 access rates shows that 15% of Irish children, up to three-years-old, are in licensed early childhood education or childcare. The access level figure is only lower in six of the other 18 countries compared, including the Czech Republic, Hungary and Mexico.