People in Cavan and Monaghan view Early Years education as equally important to primary or secondary education and care.
That's according to Early Childhood Ireland's Barometer, an annual opinion poll conducted nationwide by RED C, to gauge public attitudes to early years care and education.
The Barometer reveals that 82% of people surveyed in Connacht and Ulster agree that every child should be guaranteed access to high quality and inclusive Early Years and School Age care in their community.
76% of people surveyed in the region agree that similar to primary education in Ireland, Early Years education should be available free to all children while 74% of those surveyed locally, agree that the education of children under five is as important as the education of children over five.
Frances Byrne, Director of Policy at Early Childhood Ireland said the results show a clear transformational shift in how people from Cavan and Monaghan think about Early Years education and care, from a means to facilitate working parents to something essential in the educational development of young children.
She added that the last six years of polling has seen a 10% increase in support.
