Longford-Westmeath TD and Fianna Fáil spokesperson on children and youth affairs, Robert Troy, is to host a consultation session on early childhood care and education in Athlone on Tuesday November 4 from 7-9pm in the Sheraton Athlone Hotel.
The aim of this consultation session is to allow Deputy Troy to update his current policy document ‘Investing in Tomorrow’.
Lecturer and programme chair for the Early Childhood Education programme at Dublin Institute of Technology Jan Pettersen is the guest speaker for the consultation session.
Deputy Troy wants to engage with parents and service providers to find out what the main issues facing them are, and how they can be improved and remedied.
“Affordability and access are two of the biggest challenges facing parents across the country today. For the majority of them the cost of a crèche or childminder equates to a second mortgage, with the average family forking out €750 a month per child. These rising costs are adding to the financial burden on already hard pressed working families and it is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed,” he said.
“I am extremely keen to hear from parents and childcare workers about their experiences, and am anxious to work with them in formulating new policy plans and ideas, which can improve the quality of care and affordability of services across the country,” concluded Deputy Troy.
