The British government has announced plans to spend an extra £61 million on childcare in Northern Ireland over the next three years. Almost half the money will be spent on expanding pre-school education. The North's Minister for Health and Social Services, Mr George Howarth, said yesterday that the funding would be a great boost for families with young children.
"For many years Northern Ireland has lagged behind the rest of the UK and Europe in developing childcare," he said. "It is my aim to ensure that good quality, affordable child care is available in every neighbourhood."
Mr Howarth added that the number of women in the workplace had increased by 25 per cent over the last 15 years, "I want to encourage more women to return to the workforce by removing any barriers that may exist."
Over £27 million of the package will be invested in a pre-school education programme, which was introduced last year. By 2002, it is expected that this programme will have created about 9,000 places for children and around 450 jobs for carers.
A further £34 million will aim to address the growing demand for childcare provision.
