INCREASINGLY parents in Ireland must look beyond the family to share the care of their young children, and nursery care is a growing option. In recent years, there have been positive developments with regard to both the quality of care and its professional status.

According to Noirin Hayes, head of the school of social sciences at the DIT, "developments in childcare training are creating a sense of childcare as a professional option for people. There are excellent courses available which look in depth at areas such as child development, personal development of staff and the interaction between adults and children.

"The training you need for childcare is very different from the training you need for teaching or nursing, and this is gradually being recognised. Options for study are expanding, and it is now possible to study childcare right up to degree level."

However, the expense of nursery care, which costs between £60 and £100 a week, could affect future developments. "Access to the service is dictated by your ability to pay, which leads to tremendous problems for many parents," says Frances Gaynor, a tutor on the NCVA/NNEB childcare course at Sallynoggin Senior College, Dublin.

"As a result, families on low incomes don't have the choices higher income families have. The cost of childcare in fact prohibits many people from actually taking up jobs."

THERE IS NOW concern that the implementation of the new childcare regulations could give rise to an increase in fees. According to Martina Murphy, chairperson of the National Children's Nurseries Association, "we welcome the new regulations, but realistically there will be an upgrading of services which will cost, and the fee will go to parents.

"Another serious problem is that the Government has recently decided to make childcare `VAT-able', in accordance with an EU directive on VAT."

Her association proposes that there should be once off grants to nurseries for any necessary refurbishment to comply with the new regulations. As for VAT, "we argue that child care is not a luxury, it is a social necessity", Murphy says. "The obvious concern here is that if fees continue to rise, just as we are making so much headway with training and creating professional standards, are we going to drift back into the informal system?"

However, there are several options which would help parents meet the expense. "One obvious one is to create tax relief for childcare," Gaynor says. "Another possibility is for the Government to fund places in private nurseries. This would benefit the nursery owner and give parents of all income levels equity of choice."

Recognising the urgent need to provide affordable childcare for working parents, last summer the Connolly Information Centre for the Unemployed opened a community based nursery the Connolly Children's Centre in Dublin's south inner city.

Bernie Kelly, the nursery manager, says, "Our priority is to provide low cost, high quality care. A full week here costs parents £40. The parents pay a third of the running costs, the rest comes from a variety of fundraising initiatives.

"THE EMPHASIS is on affectionate loving care with plenty of hugs and kisses. I believe that respect for each individual child is extremely important and we always take the time to listen to the children.

"Children also like to have a daily routine. So each morning the smaller children play or read with the adults and we do Montessori for the older ones. Then we have lunch and a nap and things like waterplay or arts and crafts in the afternoon. We tend to chat to the children a lot and see what they want to do. The morning is more structured but they plan the afternoon themselves.

"Recently for example, we took the older children out for a walk to the pet shop and bought a fish. Since then everything has revolved around the fish - games, songs, art - and the kids are learning so much. There is a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere here and the children are a really happy bunch."

While initiatives like this are of enormous benefit, Noirin Hayes says, "co ordinated delivery and support of services must be led by a clear and coherent national policy. In relation to this, it is encouraging to see the commitment the Government has made in Partnership 2000 to devise a national framework for the development of the childcare sector.

"Looking after children is a crucial job. The change in the organisation of childcare into more shared care must be cautious, with an indepth look at what is being provided in terms of meeting the needs of children."