The Minister for Education, Mr Martin, has announced that a National Forum on Early Childhood Education will take place in March.
About 40 groups providing preschool, playgroup and other early education services will meet in Dublin Castle from March 23rd to 27th to discuss the strategic development of education services for children under six.
An expert secretariat under Dr John Coolahan, professor of education at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, together with early childhood specialists from UNESCO and the EU, will prepare a paper on the forum's proceedings and conclusions by the end of May. Mr Martin said he hoped to publish a White Paper on the subject by the end of the year.
The Minister said yesterday he wanted to bring "some coherence" and "a broad consensus" to policy on early education. There are currently seven Government Departments involved in it, including Education, Health, Enterprise and Employment, Social Welfare and Agriculture.
He expected that once a coherent framework was in place he would be able to draw down additional funds. He would like to see such funding channelled through one budget, rather than one department.
The forum would make recommendations on the certification of those working in the sector.