Welcome to our first e-newsletter of 2015. Hope you're managing to stick to your new year resolutions. Here at Start Strong we've ditched the chocolate biscuits at meetings in favour of a fruit bowl. So far so good.. 

This year, the election will be a key focus of our work. On the plus side, it's clear that 'childcare' is on the election agenda. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to get the political action that will ensure high quality and affordable early care and education for all children. We look forward to working with you all to bring about this much needed change.

In this issue, we look at what the new Government interdepartmental committee on affordable 'childcare' might mean. We also look at the evaluation of the Triple P parenting programme in the midlands and give an overview of our submission to the European Commission on its Country Specific Recommendation that Ireland do something about the cost of 'childcare'.

We also welcome the recent statement by Minister of State for Equality, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, that he is confident two weeks paid paternity leave will be included in the forthcoming Family Leave Bill. This would be a step in the right direction supporting fathers to play a more active role in the care of their young children.

Finally, it will be interesting to see what effect the Association of Childhood Professional's (ACP) rally on February 17th might have. Start Strong supports the overall goal of the rally which is to highlight the importance of early childhood education and the vital role played by childhood professionals in supporting children and families.  

With best wishes, 

The team at Start Strong