Teresa Heeney, chief executive of Early Childhood Ireland, called for an overhaul of the pre-school service inspection system operated by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

Her comments came in the wake of an investigation by the Irish Independent which found some parts of the country had better inspection rates than others.

Tusla has admitted higher historical inspection rates in the west of Ireland have helped contribute to higher standards there than elsewhere.

Ms Heeney called for sweeping changes, saying Tusla had “too few inspectors [and] too few inspections”.

Read the full article on the Irish Independent website