The statistics are stark.

Only 2pc of childcare workers and one in 10 primary school teachers in Ireland are men. In fact, the gender imbalance in early education has so alarmed the Department of Education that it has launched a campaign aimed at boosting the number of men enrolling in primary teaching courses (though not, strangely, in the preschool environment).

Damien Murray is one of the few men to be found working in childcare. After several years working in retail, he decided to make a change and has found there is more of a long-term career open to him in childcare. He's been a childcare assistant at the Jigsaw Centre in Darndale, Dublin for the past two years and when he has completed his FETAC level five course in childcare in May, he will become a childcare worker and earn a higher salary.

"It was a little difficult to settle in at the start [as the only male] and there were some funny looks from parents, but I made sure to explain to everyone why I was there. The response I've had from staff, management and parents has been really good and I'm going to stick with it, " he says.

"There needs to be more encouragement for men to enter childcare. Once you're qualified you're guaranteed employment; childcare facilities are always looking for men, as there are so few male role models for children."

According to Heino Schonfeld, director of the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin, the presence of a father or male carer is a key influence in a child's early years.

"It has been established by research in the US and UK that having male teachers and carers is important, particularly for very young children. A strong correlation has been found between certain child outcomes and the presence or absence of a good male caregiver. The outcome can be positive, such as better educational achievement, or negative, such as delinquency."

Jan Pettersen is a Norwegian who has lived in Dublin for the past eight years and is a lecturer in early childhood care and education at Dublin Institute of Technology. He sees a stark difference between the approach to childcare in Ireland and in his home country, where he was a childcare worker. He says that there is much more emphasis on physical exercise and outdoor games in Norway. "Childcare in Ireland is boring, " he says.

"The focus is on table-top activities such as arts and crafts and indoor activities and there are few outlets for children to be more physical and boisterous."

While Pettersen says indoor play is important, it needs to be balanced with more 'rough-and-tumble' type play, he feels. Not only is this good for the child but it is also more likely to attract men into childcare. "If you want to attract men into childcare you've got to make it interesting, " he says.