EU children ‘three times more likely’ to attend pre-school

CHILDREN in other EU countries are three times more likely to go to pre-school than their Irish counterparts, latest research has shown.

The figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that out of almost 30 other developed countries, only Korea had fewer children aged under four enrolled in early education.

Less than one in four Irish children in this age category were in private or State-funded pre-schools in 2005, compared with an average of 69% in almost 30 other developed countries and three out of four in 19 EU countries measured.