Blog by Dr Naomi Feely; Policy Director of Eurochild’s member Children’s Rights Alliance.
At the start of 2025, a new Programme for Government was published setting out the key priorities for the newly elected Irish government over its next term. The document, comprising of 162 pages, details at length a wide variety of commitments. Chief among is them is the promise to reduce the cost of childcare for all parents to €200 per month.
There is no doubt that a reduction in childcare costs is a positive development for many families. For too long parents in Ireland have borne the brunt of a marketised system and have been subjected to vastly different childcare fees dependent on where they live or the type of provider they can access. This and many other aspects of the document are focused on ensuring that there are positive and measurable actions delivering change for those over the voting age of 18.
However, the youngest members of our population are left wanting in terms of the issue that is of most importance to them – play. While the word ‘play’ is mentioned 17 times in 162 pages, just five of these actually relate to the ‘play’ that so many young children hold as being important and there is no real vision as to how we can ensure that all children can exercise this right.
Just over seven years ago, the Government of Ireland published its first ever cross departmental strategy to support babies, young children and their families – First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019 – 2028. The strategy sets out a holistic vision of how children will be supported in their early years and in doing so, acknowledges the importance of parents, communities and broader services and structures than can ensure all children have positive experiences in their first years.
Several principles underpin the strategy, including the need to ensure that policies related to children focus on evidence, international standards of best practice and children’s rights. This emphasis on children’s rights is welcome, along with a specific reference to the EU Recommendation Investing in Children, the third pillar of which emphasises the importance of two distinct aspects of participation: the first, children’s participation in play and the second children’s participation in decision-making.
Goal D of First 5 picks up on the emphasis on participation, stating that children should be included ‘in the development of policy, programmes and practice that concern them’ and in particular, include ‘seldom heard groups’ (p. 102). However, rather than this being merely a future visionary action, the development of First 5 itself included a consultation with young children attending pre-school and primary school. For the 76 children attending pre-school taking part in this work, four out of eleven identified themes about what they like were related to play – the importance of playing, nature and playing outdoors, going to the park/playground and leisure activities for these children. The consultations with 37 primary school children, aged 4-5 years, also included play as a key like, but it was not as dominant as for those in pre-school.
Further insights about the importance of play for under 3s are captured by recent research to inform future data collection by Growing up in Ireland – the national longitudinal study on childhood and adolescence. This research elaborates further on the importance of play for young children and its central role in their everyday lives. While this included capturing the importance of imaginative and creative play, access to the world outside their doors by having a chance to play games and to explore the natural environment were really important.
Given the importance of play, it is welcome that the latest First 5 Implementation Plan contains a commitment to establish a new national policy on play. Yet to date, there has been little discussion at the political level or amongst advocates as to what such a policy would look like. The focus tends to be on trying to solve big social issues such as housing, poverty and the impact of adverse childhood experiences. But time and again we tend to forget or not have time to include discussions about how play can be part of the solutions to address these.
As we move towards 2026, a collective re-focus on hearing and acting on the voices of young children is needed with the hope of finally realising the commitment to develop a national play policy. Only then will we truly see the real participation of children in their earliest years.
