Ministers support move to use of child benefit to fund extra pre-school year

A second year's free pre-school could be available for 65,000 children within the next 18 months – if the Government supports the move, the Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has said.

The issue is on the political agenda after several Government Ministers yesterday threw their weight behind diverting some of the €2 billion child-benefit budget towards funding a second year of free pre-school.

If implemented, families who participate would save an average of about €3,000 a year on childcare costs. In total, up to 130,000 children could benefit in a year.

However, internal Government estimates suggest the move would be expensive and likely to cost between €175 million and €200 million per year.

Plans to introduce a much more ambitious Scandinavian-style childcare service for under-12s would cost about €2 billion, according to estimates provided to the Government.

Ms Fitzgerald, along with Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton and Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn, yesterday expressed support for using savings from child benefit changes to pay for an extra year of free pre-school.

Proposals to either tax or means-test child benefit would deliver enough money to pay for the move. This, however, would result in less cash in many parents’ pockets.

For example, under one of the changes being considered, child benefit could be cut by €20 to a flat rate of €110 per child per month for most families, with top-ups for low-income families.

Controversial move
While this would be a controversial move for stay-at-home mothers, Ministers said they expected public support given the often crippling cost of childcare and the lasting benefits offered by pre-school.

Ms Fitzgerald said up to 95 per cent of eligible parents avail of the universal pre-school place and this showed the success of the scheme so far. “For many families, childcare is equivalent to a second mortgage. All the research shows that quality, early-years childcare is of unequivocal benefit to children . . . Extending the universal free pre-school year is a move I fully support.”

She said a second free pre-school year could be available from 2015 onwards, if money is available to invest in training and supports for new childcare workers.

Mr Quinn said he fully supported seeking to expand the scheme “within the lifetime of this Government”.

Latest research shows that high-quality pre-school education has lasting benefits in academic attainment and behavioural outcomes. Studies show that for every €1 invested in early-years education, there is a seven-fold economic return.

Start Strong, a campaign aimed at advancing early education, warned it was vital to ensure any plans to expand free pre-school must focus on quality services. Acting director Toby Wolfe said early-years education was a "low wage" industry with insufficient focus on qualifications among childcare workers. He said the Government must ensure there is a stronger focus on quality and standards if it expects its investment to yield benefits into the future.

A spokesman for Ms Burton said these reforms may take time to implement.