You've heard of meals on wheels - well now children in Co Leitrim are enjoying a "playground on wheels" thanks to a new service being officially launched next week.
The South Leitrim Mobile Play Service is targeted at isolated rural communities which would not normally have access to any childcare facilities. Two trained workers, travelling in a van with special play equipment, call each day to different community centres in the area.
The aim is to provide "high-quality, stimulating care to young children" and the service is already operating in four different areas. There is also one after-school service.
In the long term, the project aims to support parents in setting up their own full-time play services in each of these areas. This would allow the project workers to move on and target other communities.
Ms Aedamar Gillespie, a child care and family support worker on the project, said that after widespread consultation with parents, it was decided this was the kind of service needed in south Leitrim. Reaction so far had been very positive, as the van had already been on the road for some weeks. It vi sits centres in Annaduff, Gortelettragh, Cloone and Aughavas.
"These people generally have to travel to towns to access the nearest childcare services, and a lot of them wouldn't have access to transport - if there is a car in the house, it would be gone during the day. So the idea was to make use of local venues, where up to now there wouldn't have been anything going on," Ms Gillespie said.
The scheme is one of a number set up under the Cross-Border Rural Childcare Project, which has received EU funding to develop childcare in rural areas on both sides of the Border. The North Western Health Board has also helped to fund the mobile play service.