State U-turn on closure of pre-school centre

A PRE-SCHOOL education policy centre shut down last autumn because the Government felt its work was no longer needed was considered important enough to be made a statutory agency a year earlier, the Irish Examiner has learned.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe said last September, when it emerged that the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) was to be closed, that its work could be done by the Office of Minister for Children Barry Andrews which had been set up in 2005.

The centre had an annual budget of €800,000 and eight staff, but only two of them moved to the early years education policy unit at Mr Andrews’ office after its closure in November.