Call for right to education from birth to be enshrined into legislation

Published: Thursday, November 05, 2026

Press release, 5 November 2026

The National Women’s Council (NWC) has said children’s right to education from birth must be enshrined in legislation, and public early years education must be guaranteed for every child from at least age one. The call was made as the organisation highlighted the significant gap between the end of paid maternity or family leave, at six to eleven months, and the start of guaranteed education for children at two years and eight months.

Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality, NWC’s Executive Director Corrinne Hasson said:

“Ireland has the largest gap in Europe between adequately paid family leave and guaranteed education for children. This has serious implications for women, often forcing them to leave work, reduce their hours, or accept fewer senior roles. This particularly affects lone parents and other marginalised groups. On the other hand, Germany has no gap between family leave and childcare entitlement, as children have a legal right to early childhood education from age one.”

Alongside the call for children’s right to education to be protected by law, NWC reiterated its long-standing call for the State to provide public childcare, including education, to every child from age one. Ms Hasson said:

“The continued expansion of private, profit-driven care has led to significant issues in affordability, access, inclusion, and quality service provision. Despite reductions in childcare fees, demand far outweighs supply. This is compounded by regional variations in access for under-2s; with ‘childcare deserts’ in various parts of the country causing additional barriers for many marginalised families. The most recent data from Pobal shows 46,000 children on waiting lists for full day care across the country. Transforming Ireland’s early childhood education and care system from a market-led to a public model is critical to ensuring access for all women, families and children.”

NWC also called for better rates of pay for all types of family leave, including maternity leave, paternity leave, adoptive leave, and parents’ leave. Corrinne Hasson said:

“A little over half of eligible fathers in Ireland take paternity leave. Ireland is the only country in the EU that doesn’t link family leave benefits to income but instead pays a very low flat rate of €299 a week.  Bulgaria and Germany offer generous pay-related approaches of between 80-100% of an individual’s salary for at least the first 2 months following childbirth.”

Ms Hasson commented separately:

“The paltry rate of family leave is less than half the minimum wage for a full-time job. Anyone who has looked after a baby knows it is more than a full-time job! This urgently needs to change. The uptake for paternity leave and parents’ leave will not improve until these rates are linked to income. This is an absolutely critical piece for women’s equality, we cannot keep expecting women to take on the lion’s share of caring responsibilities while also returning to full-time, often very demanding jobs.”

Ends/

Find here NWC’s Opening Statement to the Committee: https://www.nwci.ie/images/uploads/Joint_Oireachtas_Committee_on_Children_and_Equality_-_Corrinne_Hasson_Opening_Statement.pdf

For more information, please contact Sinéad Nolan, sineadn@nwci.ie

Notes:

What: NWC at the JOC on Children and Equality

When: 5 November, 9:30am to 12

Where: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/oireachtas-tv-channel/