Childcare has moved to the centre of the policy agenda with its inclusion in the National Development Plan, a senior civil servant said yesterday.
Ms Sylda Langford, assistant secretary at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, said county development committees would include child care in their plans, based on advice from childcare committees in each county.
She was speaking at the publication in Dublin of manuals for people running childcare facilities. Produced by Fatima Children's Day Care Centre and Tallaght Childcare Centre in Dublin, they cover such issues as management, parental involvement, child protection and bullying.