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The toy packs to be distributed to each childcare centre in the country is valued at €500. Shutterstock/antoniodiaz

€4 million to be spent giving 6,200 packs of sensory toys to crèches across the country

Minister Katherine Zappone has set aside €4 million for the project, which is being put out to tender.

FREE SENSORY TOYS are to be offered to every childcare centre in the country as part of a multimillion-euro plan to be announced by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone in the coming week.

More than 6,200 packs of toys will be distributed across the country, with €4 million being set aside for the project.

The move is being taken as part of the Access Inclusion Model launched last year to ensure children with disabilities, aged between three and four years old, can access free childcare.

Free toys 

The toys help develop audio, visual and tactile skills in children, with the minister stating that it is her intention that the toys will excite children and trigger their imaginations.

Ahead of the announcement, Zappone said:

Play is a hugely important part of growing up – and must be a part of every child’s life. I am very excited by our plan. It will not only benefit children but will also boost the confidence of a skilled and dedicated workforce to accept all children into their centres.
In addition to toys, there will also be special training on offer with the support of 80 experts.

The development of the toys has been put out to tender, but it is expected the packs will have a value of up to €500 each.

The minister said she hopes the toys will be distributed before the end of the year.

Rain3 Minister Katherine Zappone meets with children at a childcare centre. Department of Children Department of Children

“If we are to change our childcare system from one of the most expensive in the world into the best then access is key. As minister I am pleased with the progress we are making in the area of childcare. But, I am also keenly aware of the huge work still required to bring our services up to scratch,” said Zappone.

“Childcare will be a priority for me in forthcoming budget negotiations as we build further on the progress which has been made,” said the minister.

Read: Childcare payments may differ from county to county after creche fee audit>

Read: Five times more children sign up to childcare schemes aimed at less well-off families>

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18 Comments
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    Mute Paul Doyle
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:47 PM

    Please no one start with that 2016 crap… he’s 88 nanna was 96, Leonard coen was 79 or something… death happens get over it…

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    Mute KM TON
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:49 PM

    Two late Paul! Two late! If i die between now and Sunday, i ask of my loved ones, PLEASE PLEASE do not say ‘ God damn 2016′. I’m begging you!

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    Mute Paul Doyle
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:54 PM

    In 2 years time twink or some sh## will be hit by a 2016 Scania truck n people be like “2016 was just so cruel to the celebrity’s”

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    Mute Nucky
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:57 PM

    No n people be more like shut up ya sap….

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    Mute O Swetenham
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    Dec 28th 2016, 2:20 PM

    You guys are too cool for school.

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    Mute Mike Cantwell
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:45 PM

    RIP Anthony, I loved Dead As Doornails

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    Mute Brian Mulligan
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    Dec 28th 2016, 2:23 PM

    Do you remember the year when no one died, mad so it was….

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    Mute Micheal OLainn
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:54 PM

    Anthony Cronin leaves behind him a great legacy of wonderful writing that will endure long after his desth.

    I would be disturbed if no talented people were to die. We are all human. Some of us die sooner than others but we all die, even the most talented and gifted of us.

    We notice the death of talented people more because they are in the public eye and can even be a backdrop to our lives but they, like us, are not immportal.

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    Mute Shano
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    Dec 28th 2016, 1:55 PM

    Roll on 2017 when no celebrities will die at all.

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    Mute Joe Geoghegan
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    Dec 28th 2016, 1:13 PM

    One of Ireland’s great intellectuals.

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    Mute Anthony John Cotter
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    Dec 28th 2016, 1:29 PM

    Dead as Doornails is a classic, he was always worth listening to in interviews with the incredible company he kept.

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    Mute Diarmuid Lucey
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:46 PM

    Who’s next? 2016 has not been a good year!

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    Mute Fox in the Box
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:47 PM

    @Diarmuid Lucey:

    What an original comment

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    Mute Peter Martin
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    Dec 28th 2016, 3:26 PM

    Met him back about 20 years ago. A very nice man. Condolences to his wife and daughter.

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    Mute Paul Devlin
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    Dec 28th 2016, 4:04 PM

    RIP. Dead as Doornails is a classic. When people talk about the good old days, get them to read it

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    Mute Eye_c_u
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    Dec 28th 2016, 2:40 PM

    Curse of 2016 strikes again

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    Mute Christopher Gardiner
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    Dec 28th 2016, 3:23 PM

    Who is he?

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    Mute Eric Bobrie
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    Dec 28th 2016, 10:45 PM

    French académicien Michel Deon Who lives in Conemarra is dead too. Bad Day for littérature

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    Mute Louise Brierley
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    Dec 29th 2016, 1:47 AM

    ” Dead as Doornails “is a classic, excellent read, but rather dated and somewhat indecipherable today to people not necessarily in tune with 50s/60s Dublin Bohemia.

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