Casey McGivern is one of the founders of Melted Parents NI, a group of parents who campaign for better childcare provision.
She welcomed the plan for 22.5 hours of pre-school a week for every child in Northern Ireland.
“However, we are also of the view that this is not childcare and it’s not an answer to the childcare crisis,” she told News NI.
“It doesn’t make much of a difference to the burden of childcare for families.”
She said “bills don’t really change, regardless of a full-time place in preschool or not”.
“So a really welcome announcement, but we are firmly of the view that this isn’t childcare and it’s not a solution for now, which is what families need,” she added.
“We’ve known that this will take some time and I suppose that leaves us wondering why it was announced in the way that it was.
“It’s a big job.”