Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and her officials. I tabled a number of questions. The Minister referred to the Children First Bill in reply to question No. 14. I am anxious to hear her definitive response to the criticisms that have been levelled regarding enforceability. Others use different language in respect of what may be required but, at the end of the day, that is what it is all about. I would like her to use the opportunity to elaborate on that.

Question No. 12 deals with early childhood care and supports. I asked about governance, regulation, registration and inspection of child care facilities and I raised a number of other issues regarding Garda vetting procedures. I have engaged with people in the sector, including the Association of Childhood Professionals, on this matter and I share a number of their concerns. The Minister referred to the initiatives that have been taken in the early years sector over the past year. What evidence is there of improving quality on the ground? As we have stated at the committee time after time, it must be about improving the quality of service provision.

Many questions are outstanding. Registration has been in place since 1 January yet there is not an awareness of the cost of registration. There is not an awareness of when re-registration is to occur. We are told it will be within three years but what does "within" mean? Is it an annual re-registration or is it every other year?

Deputy Troy spoke about public health nurses and the inspection procedure. There is a question as to the suitability of public health nurses carrying out this inspectorate responsibility without the appropriate training or prior professional experience with regard to early childhood. Without qualifications or experience it is inappropriate that public health nurses have this responsibility foisted on them. It must of itself leave a residual question as to the standards which can be achieved if people who are not professionally trained are examining the curriculum offered and the programme of a particular facility. I ask the witnesses to address this also.

The new standards have not yet been launched and this is another issue. What time will exist between launching the standards and implementing the inspection procedures? What period of time will front-line providers have to familiarise themselves with the standards, upgrade their facilities and ensure when inspections commence they will be fit for purpose? I note the minimum requirement for all services is a deadline of September 2015, but funding will not be made available until the coming months. How will this allow providers and practitioners starting their training in September 2014 reach the required standards and meet all the requirements in this very restrictive timeframe if they are to continue to be providers? To be able to achieve it within the timeframe they would have to come out of their role and go full-time into upgrading their respective qualifications and training.

A new system of Garda vetting which is efficient and fit for purpose needs to be introduced. There can be no question but that it is essential. The current delays and backlogs of up to 14 weeks in many cases have an impact on the quality of service provided. We need to accept we cannot bring current provision and the system into a new era of highest standards and quality without the necessary investment. At the end of the day, despite all the best intentions of the Minister and the Department if the Government is not prepared to invest resources in this area we simply will not be able to reach the standards required.

I am deeply concerned about inter-country adoption. In recent months we have addressed this regarding a number of international settings including Russia. My question is focused on India. I must state there is a gap between the views of the group the Minister met in tandem with Mr. Geoffrey Shannon of the AAI early last month and the Minister's response. Why is it the case that other EU countries which are Hague signatories do not have anything like the low level of success we seem to be able to achieve? Only 11 post-Hague adoptions were effected here over the past three and a half years. This is about the children, who need access, support and providing families internationally. There seems not to be, from what these prospective adoptive parents stated to me, a sense of urgency or empathy for their cases. Why does the AAI still refuse to process the dossiers of potential adoptive parents given there is no agency to do so? When one checks the website it states it is one of the services it provides.

I will read a very worrying statement from the Ireland India support group. It states, "We are citizens that have been fooled into a process that stripped our dignity and privacy for ten years and cost us financially and emotionally for the only purpose of justifying the existence of the AAI". This is very worrying and I ask the Minister to take on board what it states and face up to the need to address any deficiencies on the part of the AAI. Will the Minister indicate to whom is the AAI accountable?