Creches and pre-school facilities will be obliged to provide early childhood education under new regulations to be published by the Government later this year.
The move is aimed at placing a greater emphasis on the quality of care children receive in creches which, research shows, is strongly linked to a child's standard of learning and development.
The new regulations, which have been signed off by Minister for Children Brian Lenihan, will also reduce the number of children a childminder may look after in their own home from six to five.
The standard of early childhood care and education to be provided in creches and pre-schools will be contained within a national quality framework which is currently being developed.
Government officials say creches and pre-schools will be given a degree of latitude in meeting the new obligations as the provision of early childhood education will entail the training of thousands of staff.
Pre-school facilities will not be obliged to have qualified staff under the new regulations, although training will be provided.
It is estimated that at least 17,000 childcare workers in the sector will receive training over the next five years.
In an interview with The Irish Times, Mr Lenihan said he wanted to ensure childcare providers were striving to provide the best quality care.
However, he said he was anxious not to "professionalise" or "over-regulate" the sector.
Mr Lenihan said that while many childcare facilities already provided early childhood education, the new regulation would set a bar for all childcare providers to meet.
He said the sector had developed in an informal way and provided parents with an array of options, from childminding to pre-school settings to sessional care and other pre-school options.
The Government wanted to build on this informal sector and provide it with greater support.
"Ultimately, we want our practice to be way ahead of the regulations. These regulations will set a minimum standard. This will involve a huge level of training.
"We're not professionalising the sector overnight. While we want professional standards, we also want to make it affordable for parents," he said.
He added that early childhood care and education would seek to help in a child's development by focusing on verbal skills, computational ability and manual dexterity.
Childcare has emerged as a major political issue in the past year, with the Government announcing a €1,000-a-year childcare supplement payable to parents for each child under the age of six.
Mr Lenihan said the Government would examine further affordability measures in the run-up to the next budget, but said this was ultimately a matter for the Minister for Finance.
While there has been speculation over whether the Government would seek to provide a year's free pre-school, Mr Lenihan played down this proposal.
He said the proposal - first pledged by the Labour Party - "smacked of the universalism surrounding free third-level fees" and it was designed to attract votes but not address problems.
The Minister said it would take years for the sector to develop the capacity and training to provide pre-school facilities for all children. He said it was a progressive idea and one he supported, but it was wrong to suggest it could be achieved overnight.
