Multiple crises, multiple sticky plasters: repositioning regimes of truth in ECEC policy to affirmative ethics of interconnection.

In recent times, the role of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), as a public service within Irish society has been illuminated. In the twenty-first century, although crises may unfold on a global scale, the response from society is galvanised at local level. Amongst other functions, ECEC is ideally positioned to form part of a local response to unanticipated public crisis. However, ECEC in Ireland finds itself in a space of converging multiple crises such as high fees for parents, poor working conditions for staff, alongside concerns of how children experience provision. This article analyses the institutional systems from which ECEC has emerged by mapping several discursive 'regimes of truth', that have built up through Irish history. Exposure of multiple crises, such as fragmentation and the commodification of care are mapped to a neoliberal discourse set in a history of colonialism and religious doctrine. Pulling off the sticky plasters is painful, whilst facing multiple crises can lead to a state of exhaustion. However, guided by affirmative ethics this article aims to generate possible solutions, thereby proposing mechanisms for creating a more sustainable model of ECEC as a public service, embedded in an interconnective narrative of ethical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]