A report has put Ireland at the bottom when it comes to the amount spent on pre-primary education.

The report, by philanthropic foundation Bertelsmann Stiftung, also ranks Ireland 21st out of 28 countries on education equality and criticises Ireland’s two tier secondary school system and lack of investment in young children.

It found that Ireland spends 0.10% of its GDP on pre-primary education.

In Budget 2018, the Government allocated less than €30m in additional funding to children’s early years education.

Children’s charity, Barnardos, said it is “disappointed but not surprised” by the result.

June Tinsley, Head of Advocacy at Barnardos, said: “The fact that Ireland spends less than 10% as some of its European counterparts on early years is shocking; but for families with small children it won’t come as a surprise.

Read the full article on The Kildare Nationalist website here