Quality child-care for school-age children is a human right, according to Barnardos chief, Fergus Finlay.

Mr Finlay was launching a report by the Dublin City Childcare Committee which shows that there are about 160 services offering childcare to school-going children in Dublin city, but that these are unregulated.

Anne Conroy, chairwoman of the committee, said school-age childcare tended to be “the poor relation” in the childcare sector. “It’s not regulated. It’s not monitored. It’s not subject to standards,” she said.

Mr Finlay said that every child in Ireland had the right to as happy and fulfilled a childhood as possible and that included access to regulated school-age childcare. He said it was often surprising to see older children getting stuck into toys and games aimed at younger children – they should be provided with age-appropriate activities.

Mr Finlay said the number of children living in consistent poverty had increased by a half between 2008 and 2009, and many children were cold and hungry when they came to childcare services. He recalled one child who refused to eat his lunch and asked that it be wrapped up so that he could share it with his siblings at home.

While creches and play-schools are subject to strict monitoring and regulations, there are no mandatory standards for premises providing care to school-age children.

“Why should a three-year-old be able to go to services that are subjected to regulation, to standards, to monitoring and his six or seven-year-old brother or sister who goes to an after-school club cannot?” Ms Conroy asked. She said she hoped the Government’s new childcare strategy, currently being prepared, would address this issue.

The care can include after-school clubs, supervised care before school starts in the morning and care during the school holidays.

The committee comprises representatives of agencies with an interest in the childcare sector. It aims to encourage development of childcare locally and operates under the Childcare Directorate of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.