Early Childhood Development in Ireland - Country Profile
Ireland has made good progress over recent years in delivering early childhood development (ECD) policies and in supporting families with young children. Specifically, numerous policy provisions provide access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in health, and/or social and child protection services. Although early education is not compulsory in Ireland, and children can start attending a free, universal pre-school programme from the age of two years and eight months, different strategies and schemes have been introduced to address the needs of families and children in a holistic way.
First Years First Priority is a Europe-wide campaign set up to advocate for prioritization of early childhood development in public policies, with a particular focus on families and children who are at greater risk of discrimination and exclusion.
