More training and support needed for early development - Fitzgerald

The Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, said she wants to focus on training before a second free pre-school year is introduced.

Earlier today, Minister Fitzgerald launched a new report which will form the new "Early years strategy".

It has 54 recommendations which covers children’s health, development and education.

Minister Fitzgerald says mentoring and training will form a significant part of the initiative.

"The first step towards implementing and having a free second year is to put in an infrastructure that supports quality early-year services," she said.

"So the first step is developing the mentoring and training supports … we've invested more in buildings, [and] we need to support quality initiatives now."