The Government should introduce universal education for three and four-year-olds, according to a pre-budget submission from the National Women's Council of Ireland.

More spending on social welfare, the creation of a publicly subsidised childcare system and more leave for parents to remain at home with their children also feature in the submission, which the NWCI says is necessary to tackle "structural inequalities" that discriminate against women.

None of the measures proposed by the council have been costed, but those that have carry a cumulative price tag of over €1.6 billion.

The women's council, the umbrella-group for women's groups, plans to unveil a detailed childcare plan later this month.

Yesterday, it called for the introduction of a combination of maternity, paternity and parental leave that would allow parents to remain at home for the first year of a child's life, the extension of paid maternity benefit from 18 to 26 weeks and the introduction of three days of paid paternity leave.

Orla O'Connor, head of policy at the NWCI, said five main areas were being prioritised: social welfare reform; childcare; women's participation in decision-making; health; and violence against women.

"These represent criticial areas that are at the core of the inequalities which women experience in Ireland and areas where resources are desperately needed in the forthcoming budget," she said. "Many of the inequalities which women experience have reached crisis point."